EXCHANGE 


25 

THE  SEMANTIC  VARIABILITY   AND 

SEMANTIC  EQUIVALENTS  OF 

-OSO-  AND  -LENTO- 


BY 

EDWARD  W.    NICHOLS 


A  THESIS 

PRESENTED  TO  THE  FACULTY  OF  THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL  OF 

YALE  UNIVERSITY  IN  CANDIDACY  FOR  THE  DEGREE 

OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 


PRESS  OF 

THE  NEW  ERA  PRINTING  COMPANY 
LANCASTER,  PA. 


1914 


THE  SEMANTIC  VARIABILITY  AND 

SEMANTIC  EQUIVALENTS  OF 

-OSO-  AND  -LENTO- 


BY 

EDWARD  W.   NICHOLS 


A  THESIS 

PRESENTED  TO  THE  FACULTY  OF  THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL  OF 

YALE  UNIVERSITY  IN  CANDIDACY  FOR  THE  DEGREE 

OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 


PRESS  OF 

THE  NEW  ERA  PRINTING  COMPANY 
LANCASTER,  PA. 

1914 


PREFACE. 

This  dissertation  has  been  slightly  altered  from  its  origina 
form,  the  principal  change  being  the  addition  of  the  section  on 
Semantic  Reciprocity.  I  am  indebted  to  Professor  E.  P.  Morris 
for  the  idea  which  I  have  endeavored  to  work  out;  to  Dean 
Oertel  for  careful  and  detailed  criticism  of  the  entire  paper;  to 
Professor  E.  W.  Hopkins  for  assistance  with  the  Sanskrit 
examples;  and  to  Professor  C.  U.  Clark  for  some  valuable  sug- 
gestions. I  take  this  opportunity  of  thanking  all  these  gentlemen 
for  their  interest  and  advice. 


INTRODUCTION. 

1 1. 

The  purpose  of  this  dissertation  is  to  show  (i)  that  an  ad- 
jectival termination  in  Latin  may  have  a  wide  range  of  semantic 
variability,  determined  primarily  by  (a)  the  stem  to  which  it  is 
attached,  (b)  the  noun  which  the  adjective  limits;  and  secondarily 
(c)  by  the  more  remote  context;  and  (2)  that  there  may  be  a 
large  number  of  semantic  equivalents  for  such  a  termination, 
determined  in  each  instance  by  the  factors  (a),  (&),  and  (c) 
above.  Nearly  every  adjective  suffix  occurs  in  several  different 
semantic  categories,  and  each  semantic  category  is  represented 
by  a  number  of  suffixes.*  If  semantic  categories  (Bedeutungs- 
klassen)  are  to  be  established  under  which  suffixes  may  be  sub- 
sumed, they  must  of  necessity  be  large  and  abstract.  But  each 
concrete  suffix  has  its  meaning  determined  largely  by  the  forces 
mentioned  above;  hence  the  necessity  for  examination  of  a 
great  number  of  examples  before  making  any  general  statement 
about  the  semantic  value  of  a  termination. 

The  idea  developed  in  the  following  pages  may  be  found  in 
Morris,  'Principles  and  Methods  in  Latin  Syntax*  (1901),  Chap. 
IV,  and  is  concisely  stated  by  Brugmann,  V.  G.,  II,  1(1906), 
p.  663:  "Die  Formantien  geben  an  und  fur  sich  kaum  mehr  als 
die  ganz  allgemeine  adjektivische  Beziehung,  die  genauere  Art 
dieser  Beziehung  ist  durch  die  Bedeutung  des  Grundworts 
bestimmt  worden.  So  fallen  oft  zwei  Formen  mit  demselben 
Formans  wegen  verschiedenen  Begriffs  des  Stammnomens  ver- 
schiedenen  Bedeutungsklassen  zu.  Aber  auch  darauf  kam  es 
an,  zu  welchem  Substantivbegriff  das  Adjektiv  attributiv  oder 
pradikativ  in  Verbindung  trat,  und  hierdurch  kann  auch  dasselbe 
Adjektiv  als  verschiedenen  Bedeutungsklassen  zugehorig  er- 
scheinen,  z.  B.  'agger  niveus1  'ein  Damm  oder  Wall,  der  aus 

*  These  phenomena  parallel  those  of  case-suffixes;  vid.  Oertel  and  Morris, 
Harvard  Studies,  XVI  (1905),  p.  85. 


2  THE   SEMANTIC  VARIABILITY  AND 

Schnee  besteht,  Schneedamm,'  und  ' eguos  niveus'  'ein  Pferd,  das 
wie  Schnee  aussieht,  schneeweisses  Pferd/  'lyra  eburna1  'Leier  aus 
Elfenbein,'  und  'digitus  eburnus'  '  elfenbeinweisser  Finger.'" 

§2- 

The  term  'semantic  content*  applied  to  suffixes  throughout 
this  paper  denotes  the  meaning  of  a  suffix  in  some  particular 
context.  For  the  general  meaning  of  a  suffix  which  is  of  course 
an  abstraction,  the  term  'semantic  area'  (Gebrauchssphare)  is 
perhaps  as  good  as  any,  and  will  be  used  in  that  sense  where 
necessary.  The  suffix  — oso —  has  a  semantic  area;  in  the 
sense  here  employed  it  has  no  semantic  content  until  placed  in  a 
definite  context  which  determines  such  content. 

§3. 

The  suffixes  chosen  for  investigation  are  — oso —  and  — lento — . 
The  results  obtained,  however,  are  chiefly  based  on  — oso — . 
This  fact  is  due  partly  to  the  greater  frequency  of  adjectives  in 
— oso — ,  partly  to  their  wider  range  of  use  in  individual  words. 
The  material  for  investigation  has  been  gathered  from  the  follow- 
ing authors:  Catullus,  Caesar,  Cicero,  Cato,  R.  R.,  Comic  Frag- 
ments (Ribbeck),  Horace,  Juvenal,  Livy,  Lucretius,  Plautus, 
Propertius,  Quintilian,  Sallust,  Tacitus,  Tibullus,  Terence, 
Tragic  Fragments  (Ribbeck),  Varro,  R.  R.,  Vergil,  Vitruvius. 
The  mass  of  examples  is  so  great  that  it  has  not  been  necessary 
to  include  any  doubtful  readings.  Over  this  literature  each 
instance  of  any  adjective  in  — oso —  or  — lento —  has  been 
examined,  and  many  adjectives  in  — to — .  Adjectives  in  other 
terminations  have  been  included  only  for  purposes  of  illustration ; 
and  many  examples  have  been  taken  from  Pliny  and  Columella, 
though  from  these  no  systematic  collection  has  been  made. 

Adjectives  in  — oso — ,  — lento — ,  and  — to —  examined  are: 
Actuosus  I  instance,  acerosus,  I,  aerosus,  2,  aestuosus,  13, 
aerumnosus,  n,  aluminosus,  2,  alsiosus,  3,  ambitiosus,  45,  (in- 
ambitiosus,  i),  animosus,  31,  annosus,  20,  aquosus,  30,  araneosus, 
5,  argillosus,  3,  argumentosus,  I,  artificiosus,  25,  aurosus,  2, 
axitiosus,  2,  bellicosus,  24,  bellosus,  I,  belluosus,  I,  bibosus,  I, 


:    .- 


SEMANTIC  EQUIVALENTS  OF  -OSO-  AND  -LENTO-.  3 

bituminosus,  4,  bucculentus,  I,  cadaverosus,  i,  caenosus,  i, 
calamitosus,  42,  caliginosus,  4,  callosus,  I,  captiosus,  10,  cariosus, 
2,  cerebrosus,  I,  cicatricosus,  4,  citrosus,  I,  clamosus,  3,  clivosus, 
5,  confragosus,  17,  contumeliosus,  21,  copiosus,  52,  corpulentus, 
2,  cretosus,  5,  criminosus,  n,  cruentus,  107,  (incruentus,  24), 
cuniculosus,  I,  curiosus,  22,  (percuriosus,  2),  damnosus,  36, 
desidiosus,  4,  detrimentosus,  I,  dictiosus,  I,  dolosus,  n,  dumosus, 
2,  ebriosus,  5,  elleborosus,  2,  esculentus,  3,  exitiosus,  20,  fabu- 
losus,  12,  facinerosus,  21,  factiosus,  10,  famosus,  27,  fastidiosus,  9, 
febriculosus,  I,  fistulosus,  I,  flagitiosus,  14,  (perflagitiosus,  i), 
flexuosus,  i,  fluctuosus,  I,  formidolosus,  31,  formosus,  182, 
fragosus,  3,  fraudulentus,  9,  frondosus,  12,  fructuosus,  47, 
fruticosus,  3,  fucosus,  2,  fumosus,  14,  furiosus,  63,  funestus,  6, 
generosus,  50,  glareosus,  2,  globosus,  8,  gloriosus,  74,  gratiosus, 
39,  gravedinosus,  I,  gulosus,  i,  harenosus,  14,  hederosus,  I, 
herbosus,  15,  herniosus,  I,  honestus,  70,  (inhonestus,  8),  hircosus 

1,  ieiuniosus,  I,  ignominiosus,  17,  imaginosus,  I,  impendiosus,  I, 
imperiosus,  20,  importuosus,  4,  ingeniosus,  54,  (peringeniosus,  i), 
iniuriosus,  6,  inlecebrosus,  I,  inopiosus,  I,  insidiosus,  21,  invidi- 
osus,  74,  iocosus,  28,  iugosus,  2,  iuncosus,  i,  labeosus,  I,  labori- 
osus,  24,  lacertosus,  4,  lacrimosus,  10,  lapidosus,  9,  latebrosus,  8, 
lacunosus,  3,  libidinosus,  32,  licentiosus,  I,  lienosus,  3,  lignosus,  3, 
limosus,  15,  litigiosus,  10,  lucrosus,  4,  litorosus,  I,  luctuosus,  29, 
(perluctuosus,  i),  luculentus,  19,  ludosus,  I,  luminosus,  2,  lus- 
citiosus,  2,  lutosus,  4,  lotiolentus,  I,  lutulentus,  4,  luxuriosus,  29, 
maculosus,  15,  malitiosus,  15,  mammosus,  3,  medicamentosus,  2, 
mendosus,    10,   meticulosus,   2,   montosus,   7,   monstruosus,   2, 
morosus,  II,  (submorosus,  i),  morbosus,  8,  muscosus,  6,  mulie- 
rosus,  4,  nebulosus,  9,  negotiosus,  10,  nemorosus,  10,  nervosus, 
4,  nimbosus,  6,  nivosus,  7,  nodosus,  9,  numerosus,  18,  nitrosus, 

2,  obliviosus,   3,   obnoxiosus,    2,   obsequiosus,    I,    odiosus,    74, 
(perodiosus,   2,   subodiosus,    i)    officiosus,   25,    (inofficiosus,   2) 
onerosus,  1 1,  operosus,  28,  opiniosus,  I,  opulentus,  103,  orbitosus, 
i,   otiosus,   70,   obstrudulentus,    I,   palmosus,    I,   pannosus,   2, 
paludosus,    2,    peculiosus,    I,    pecuniosus,    23,    perniciosus,    89, 
pecorosus,  I,  perfidiosus,  12,  pedicosus,  I,  peminosus,  i,  peri- 
culosus,  95,  pilosus,  8,  piscosus,  6,  pituitosus,  I,  pisculentus,  3, 


THE   SEMANTIC  VARIABILITY  AND 

plagosus,  I,  plumosus,  2,  pomosus,  3,  podagrosus,  2,  ponderosus,  4, 
portuosus,  3,  portentosus,  2,  pretiosus,  31,  probrosus,  13,  pro- 
cellosus,  3,  prodigiosus,  8,  pruinosus,  6,  pulverulentus,  14, 
pestilentus,  I,  purulentus,  I,  quaestuosus,  18,  rabiosus,  6,  radi- 
osus,  I,  ramosus,  9,  religiosus,  98,  rorulentus,  3,  rixosus,  I, 
rubricosus,  3,  rugosus,  9,  ruinosus,  6,  repudiosus,  I,  robiginosus,  I, 
ructuosus,  I,  sabulosus,  2,  saetosus,  5,  saeptuosus,  I,  salivosus,  3, 
salebrosus,  I,  saltuosus,  3,  sanguinolentus,  19,  scelerosus,  4, 
scelestus,  8,  scopulosus,  2,  scruposus,  4,  scruplosus,  2,  seditiosus, 
58,  senticosus,  I,  sententiosus,  I,  sinuosus,  5,  siticulosus,  I, 
somniculosus,  2,  seniosus,  I,  spatiosus,  17,  speciosus,  34,  spinosus, 
8,  spumosus,  7,  squamosus,  7,  stercorosus,  I,  stomachosus,  4, 
strigosus,  2,  strumosus,  I,  studiosus,  69,  (perstudiosus,  i), 
sumptuosus,  17,  superstitiosus,  23,  suspiciosus,  19,  temulentus, 
22,  tenebricosus,  5,  tenebrosus,  6,  torminosus,  I,  torosus,  2, 
tortuosus,  8,  truculentus,  20,  tumultuosus,  14,  turbulentus,  51, 
varicosus,  I,  vadosus,  6,  ventosus,  5,  ventriosus,  5,  venustus,  10, 
(invenustus,  4),  verbosus,  n,  vetustus,  22,  villosus,  7,  veternosus, 
I,  vinosus,  7,  vinulentus,  15,  violentus,  45,  virosus,  2,  vitiosus,  92, 
ulcerosus,  3,  uliginosus,  4,  umbrosus,  37,  undosus,  2,  vultuosus,  I. 
Total,  3587. 

§4- 

For  the  determination  of  the  semantic  content  of  — oso —  and 
— lento —  two  factors,  as  observed  above,  are  especially  to  be 
studied:  the  stem  on  which  the  adjective  is  formed,  and  the 
noun  which  it  limits.  Occasionally  the  more  remote  context 
furnishes  a  third  determining  factor.* 

The  first  part  of  this  paper  aims  to  determine  the  semantic 
content  of  — oso —  and  — lento —  in  various  contexts,  to  show 
their  great  variety.  No  emphasis  should  be  laid  on  the  exact 
English  wording  given  in  the  various  translations.  Translation 
is  simply  the  imperfect  medium  through  which  the  fact  that  the 

*The  etymology  of  — oso —  and  — lento —  is  of  no  importance  for  the 
purposes  of  this  dissertation.  That  of  — oso —  is  as  yet  disputed. 

See  Brugmann,  V.  GM  II,  I,  §  355.  P-  464,  and  §  536,  p.  664.  Also  Lindsay, 
Lat.  Lang.  pp.  352-3.  It  should  be  said  that  no  attempt  has  been  made  either 
to  trace  the  historic  development  of  the  various  uses  of  — oso — ,  or  to  discuss 
the  use  of  adjectives  in  — oso —  from  a  stylistic  standpoint.  The  suffix  is 
treated  here  from  the  semantic  aspect  only. 


SEMANTIC   EQUIVALENTS   OF   -OSO-  AND   -LENTO-.  5 

termination  has  varying  semantic  content  is  indicated.  It  is 
further  to  be  noted  that  the  different  translations  are  not  neces- 
sarily mutually  exclusive. 

§5. 

Before  proceeding  to  the  business  of  precise  delimitation  of 
the  suffixes,  it  might  be  well  to  dissect  one  or  two  examples,  so 
that  the  method  of  determination  may  be  seen.  In  this  way 
the  reason  for  the  translation  used  will  be  clearer.  The  word 
'ventosus'  as  used  by  Tacitus,  G.,  V,  3,  means  'exposed  to 
winds.'  The  sentence  is  "terra  umidior  qua  Gallias,  ventosior 
qua  Noricum  aspicit."  The  wind  does  not  necessarily  blow  all 
the  time ;  but  when"  it  does  the  land  is  swept  by  it.  The  meaning 
'exposed  to'  is  forced  on  — oso —  by  'ventus'  and  'terra.'  In 
Ovid,  Fasti,  IV,  392,  'primaque  ventosis  palma  petetur  equis,' 
— oso —  means  'swift  as.'  The  word  'ventus'  connotes  several 
qualities,  either  one  of  which  may  furnish  the  tertium  quid 
comparationis  between  'ventus'  and  another  noun.  Conse- 
quently the  precise  content  of  — oso —  cannot  be  known  until 
the  noun  limited  is  known.  In  Pliny,  N.  H.,  XVII,  5,  'terrain 
cariosam  cave,'  while  the  noun  is  'terra,'  as  above,  the  meaning 
of  — oso —  is  certainly  not  'exposed  to.'  So  in  the  following 
example  of  'vinosus,'  "laudibus  arguitur  vini  vinosus  Homerus." 
Hor.,  Ep.  I,  19,  6.  The  meaning  is 'addicted  to  wine.'  It  is  not 
'under  the  influence  of  wine,  intoxicated.'  Why?  In  the  first 
place  the  verse  quoted  is  opposed  to  that  interpretation,  for 
Homer's  'laudes  vini'  are  not  the  work  of  a  drunken  man. 
Further,  the  opening  sentence  of  the  epistle  is  discussing  not 
temporary  conditions  but  permanent  habits;  "prisco  si  credis, 
Maecenas  docte,  Cratino  |  nulla  placere  diu  nee  vivere  carmina 
possunt  |  quae  scribuntur  aquae  potoribus."  'Aquae  potoribus* 
here  is  paralleled  by  and  opposed  to  'vinosus,'  that  is,  'vmi 
po tores.'  So  the  'male  sanos'  of  verse  3  indicates  a  permanent 
state,  and  "vina  fere  dulces  oluerunt  mane  Camenae,"  denotes  a 
continued  habit  also. 

The  various  elements,  then,  the  stem  on  which  the  adjective  is 
formed,  the  noun  limited,  and  the  more  remote  context,  must 
in  each  instance  be  examined  before  the  exact  interpretation  of 
an  adjective  termination  is  attempted. 


CHAPTER   I. 

§6. 

THE  SEMANTIC  VARIABILITY  OF  — oso —  AND  — lento — . 

— Oso —  (or  where  words  of  that  termination  may  be  used 
— lento — )  may  mean : 

I.  'Causing/  "lacrimoso  non  sine  fumo  |  udos  cum  foliis 
ramos  urente  camino."  Hor.,  Serm.  I,  5,  80.  "caepis  omnibus 
odor  lacrimosus."  Pliny,  N.  H.,  XIX,  6,  32.  It  may  be  noticed 
here  that  both  noun  limited  and  stem  are  required  to  determine 
fully  the  causative  force,  "et  scopulos  lacrimosis  vocibus 
implent."*  Verg.,  Aen.,  XI,  274.  Here  the  causative  force 
is  not  so  distinctly  felt.  The  reason  is,  that  there  is  nothing 
which  absolutely  defines  it.  The  cries  may  'cause  tears,'  or  be 
'  accompanied  by  tears,'  or  both,  "finis  vitae  eius  nobis  luctuosus, 
amicis  tristis,  extraneis  non  sine  cura  fuit."  Tac.,  A.,  XLIII,  I. 
"aurum  autem  et  argentum  in  urbibus  et  privatim  et  in  focis 
invidiosa  res  est."  Cic.,  L.,  II,  45.  "damnosus  pecori  curris, 
damnosir  oagris."  Ov.,  Am.,  Ill,  6,  99.  Ovid  is  speaking  of  a 
river. 

'Causing*  is  of  course  recognized  as  an  active  meaning  of 
— oso — .  It  may  not  be  so  generally  recognized  that  an  adjective 
usually  passive  becomes  active  upon  being  used  with  a  suitable 
noun.  "  ut  Terentiam  unam  omnium  aerumnosissimam  sustentes 
tuis  ofiiciis."  Cic.,  A.,  Ill,  23,  5.  "si  .  .  .  nee  tarn  aerumnoso 
navigavissem  salo."  Cic.,  T.,  Ill,  67. 

For  a  complete  definition  of  causative  force  by  more  remote 
context  and  contrast  the  following  example  will  suffice:  "sine 
virtute  certe,  nullo  modo;  virtus  autem  actuosa,  et  deus  vester 

*  It  is  interesting  to  note  here  a  Sanskrit  parallel  to  '  lacrimosis  vocibus ' : 
"tato  bdspdkuldm  vdcam  Damayantl  .  .  .  pratydharanfi."  MBh.,  Ill,  2177, 
"then  Damayanti  uttering  a  tearful  voice."  In  Sanskrit  the  termination 
— dkula  is  regularly  used  with  nouns  as  here  with  'bdspa,'  'tear'  to  form  ad- 
jectives. It  is  one  of  the  many  adjective-forming  elements  that  will  be  noted 
as  parallel  to  — oso — . 

6 


SEMANTIC  EQUIVALENTS  OF  -OSO-  AND  -LENTO-.  7 

nihil  agens."     Cic.,  N.,  I,  no.     The  contrast  with  'nihil  agens' 
determines  the  active  force  of  — oso —  beyond  any  doubt. 

II.  'Suffering,'  the  passive  meaning  is  also  very  common.* 
"non  patitur  hominem  calamitosum  uno  malo  adflictum  uno 
in  luctu  perire."     Cic.,  Sulla,  91.     But  with  a  different  noun  an 
active  meaning  may  occur:  "sed  vis  calamitosa  est  quam  illis 
intulerunt."     Cic.,    Phil.,    XIV,    9.     "accipe,    aerumnosam    et 
miseriarum  compotem  mulierem  retines."     Plaut.,  Epid,  559. 

III.  'Fraught  with.' 

"Video  quanta  et  quam  periculosa  quaestio  .  .  .  temptetur." 
Cic.  Cluent.,  157. 

"exercitum  novo  periculoso  itinere  inter  exteras  gentesduceret." 
Livy,  XLIII,  I. 

The  question  here  arises,  why  translate  'fraught  with'  rather 
than  'causing'?  The  answer  is,  that  the  'iter'  does  not  neces- 
sarily cause  'periculum'  but  may  do  so.  So  in  "morbi  per- 
niciosiores  pluresque  sunt  animi  quam  corporis."  Cic.,  T.,  Ill,  5. 
The  'morbi'  of  the  mind  do  not  necessarily  cause  'pernicies,'  but 
may.  This  meaning  is  borne  out  in  "post  ludos  contiones 
sedit-iosae  tribunorum  plebis  fuerunt,  obiurgantium  multitudi- 
nem."  Livy,  IV,  35,  5.  "Unde  seditiosa  colloquia  et  inter 
paganos  corruptior  miles."  Tac.,  I,  53.  14.  "per  conciliabula 
.  .  .  seditiosa  disserebant  de  continuatione  tributorum."  Tac., 
3,  40,  10.  "sive  culpa  sive  infelicitate  imperatorum  tarn  igno- 
miniosa  clades  accepta  esset."  Livy,  V.,  9,  I. 

IV.  '  Mixed  with.'f     "  (aes)  fit  et  e  lapide  aeroso,  quam  vocant 

*  Aulus  Gellius  (IX,  12)  pointed  out  the  difference  between  the  active  and 
passive  force  of  — oso — ,  but  did  not  indicate  what  made  the  difference:  "ut 
'  f  ormidolosus '  dici  potest  et  qui  formidat  et  qui  formidatur,  ut  'invidiosus' 
et  qui  invidet  et  cui  invidetur,  ut  '  suspiciosus '  et  qui  suspicatur  et  qui  sus- 
pectus  est,  ut.'ambitiosus'  et  qui  ambit  et  qui  ambitur,  ut  item  'gratiosus' 
et  qui  adhibet  gratias  et  qui  admittit,  ut  'laboriosus'  et  qui  laborat  et  qui 
labori  est,  ut  pleraque  alia  huiuscemodi  in  utramque  partem  dicuntur,  ita 
'infestus'  quoque  ancipiti  significatione  est.  nam  et  is 'infestus' appellatur, 
qui  malum  infert  cuipiam,  et  contra  cui  aliunde  impendet  malum,  is  quoque 
'infestus'  dicitur." 

t  From  the  Rig  Veda  two  different  compounds  have  been  chosen  to  illus- 
trate the  meaning  of  — oso — ,  'mixed  with.'  They  are  "srita,'  past  participle 
of  the  verb  'Sri,'  'to  mix';  and  'sakhi,'  'friend,'  or  'companion.'  The  stem 
on  which  the  adjective  is  formed  is  in  each  instance  'go,'  'cow,'  but  here  used 


8  THE   SEMANTIC  VARIABILITY  AND 

cadmean."  Pliny,  XXXIV,  2.  "  (aurum)  aerosum  contrahit  se, 
hebetaturque  et  difficulter  feruminatur."  id.,  XXXIII,  29. 
"tantum  nivosae  grandinis  deiecit  ut  omnibus  omissis  procum- 
berent  homines  tegminibus  suis  magis  obruti  quam  tecti." 
Livy,  XXI,  58. 

V.  'Living  in'  is  justified  by  "tu  mihi  iuratus  per  numina 
matris  aquosae."     Ovid.,  Her.,  3,  53.     Briseis  is  speaking  to 
Achilles,  and  Thetis  is  'aquosa.' 

"ille  paludosos  memoret  servire  Sicambros.'     Prop.,  IV,  6,  77. 

VI.  'Growing  in.' 

"fortunate  senex,  ergo  tua  rura  manebunt 

et  tibi  magna  satis,  quamvis  lapis  omnia  nudus 
limosoque  palus  obducat  pascua  iunco."     Verg.,  Eel.,  I,  48. 
'iuncus  limosus'   means  'the  rush  that  grows  in  the  marsh.' 

It  may  be  worth  noticing  that  here  again  the  shift  of  meaning 
is  quickly  marked  upon  a  change  of  the  noun  limited,  "neque 
figi  limosa  humo  poterant  (aquilae)."  Tac.,  i,  65,  20.  To  get 
the  meaning  'growing  in'  two  things  are  required,  (i)  a  noun 
limited,  meaning  some  sort  of  plant,  (2)  a  stem  for  the  osus 
adjective  that  shall  mean  soil,  or  ground.  Presumably  adjec- 
tives like  '  montosus '  or  '  iugosus '  in  that  sense  might  be  expected 
to  supply  an  example,  but  none  have  been  found. 

"tu  modo  duritiam  silvis  depone  iugosis."  Ov.,  Her.,  4,  85. 
"quis  probet  in  silvis  Cererem  regnare  iugosis."  id.,  Am.,  I, 
1,9.  In  these  examples  the  emphasis  is  rather  such  as  to  make 
the  correct  translation  'hilly  woods,'  or  'hills  and  woods.'  Here 
can  be  plainly  seen  the  fact  that  — oso —  is  practically  a  function 
of  the  adjective  stem  and  the  noun  limited. 

VII.  'Clear  as.' 

" crystallusque  meas  ornet  aquosa  manus."     Prop.,  IV.,  3,  52. 

in  the  special  sense  of  'milk.'  "  gosritd  matsara  ime  somdsah,"  "the  soma- 
drinks  mixed  with  milk  are  maddening."  R.  V.,  I,  137,  i.  Also  "somam 
pibati  gosakhdyam,"  ib.,  V,  37,  4.  "he  drinks  soma  mixed  with  milk."  There 
is  a  quite  different  use  of  'gosakhi'  in  " stotd  me  gosakhd  sydt,"  R.  V.,  VIII, 
14,  I,  "my  worshipper  would  be  rich  in  cows."  For  this  meaning  of  'gosakhi' 
no  precise  parallel  has  been  found  in  Latin,  for  '  pecorosus '  has  not  been  found 
limiting  a  word  meaning  a  person.  On  the  other  hand,  'pecuniosus'  is  usually 
used  with  such  words,  and  thus  has  been  found  to  mean  only  'possessing 
money,'  as  'gosakhi'  here  means  'possessing  cows.' 


SEMANTIC  EQUIVALENTS  OF  -OSO-  AND  -LENTO-.  9 

The  gem  'crystallus'  is  clear  as  water. 

A  case  like  this  gives  a  good  opportunity  to  point  out  the 
fact  that  in  all  instances  where  the  stem  of  an  adjective  denotes 
some  substance  that  has  several  qualities  of  equal  or  nearly 
equal  prominence,  some  one  quality  forms  the  tertium  quid 
comparationis  between  the  stem  of  the  adjective  and  the  noun 
limited.  Which  quality  this  shall  be  is  in  each  instance  deter- 
mined, so  far  as  has  been  observed,  by  the  noun  limited.  Water 
is  wet,  fluid,  unstable,  and  numerous  other  things.  None  of 
these  qualities  has  anything  to  do  with  a  gem.  Water  is  also — 
theoretically — clear;  this  clearness  furnishes  the  bridge  from  the 
idea  of  gem  to  that  of  water.  (See  examples  under  'ventosus* 
below.) 

VIII.  'Round  as,'  as  is  found  in  globosus. 

Here  the  quality  of  roundness  in  'globus'  is  so  marked  that 
this  meaning  is  the  only  one  met  with,  "quae  (mundi  volubili- 
tas)  in  globosa  forma  esse  non  posset."  Cic.,  N.,  II,  49.  "et 
globosum  (i.  e.  mundum)  est  fabricatus  quod  (7v>eupoei6es  Graeci 
vocant."  id.,  Tim.,  17.  "terra  solida  et  globosa  et  undique  ipsa 
in  sese  nutibus  suis  conglobata."  id.,  N.,  II,  98.  "quae  (stellae) 
globosae  et  rotundae  .  .  .  circulos  suos  orbesque  conficiunt 
celeritate  mirabili."  id.,  R.,  VI,  15.  "globosos  turbines  |  exis- 
tere  istos  undis  concursantibus."  id.,  N.,  II,  89.  " scilicet  esse 
globosa  (corpora)  tamen  cum  squalida  constant  |  provolvi  simul 
ut  possint  et  laedere  sensus."  Lucr.,  II,  469.  In  every  case 
the  tertium  quid  comparationis  is  the  same — the  roundness  of 
the  'globus.'  This  is  the  dominant  quality. 

IX.  'Provided  with.'* 

*  Some  Sanskrit  parallels  to  such  words  as  '  pecuniosus '  or  '  copiosus '  may 
be  noted  here.  The  word  'dhana,'  'wealth,'  is  used  with  the  terminations 
— vat,  — in,  and  — stha  (the  latter  a  verbal  from  the  root  stha),  in  suitable 
contexts  without  any  difference  in  semantic  content.  MBh.,  12,  3331,  "angam 
etan  mahad  rajye,  dhanino  ndma,  bhdrata."  "This  is  a  great  thing  in  a  state, 
rich  people  namely."  The  passage  continues,  "kakudam  sarvabhutanam 
dhanastho,  na'tra  samsayah,"  "Top  of  all  creatures  is  the  rich  man,  no  doubt." 
1  Dhanasthah '  here  equals  'dhaninah'  above  except,  of  coufrse,  for  the  difference 
in  number.  Further,  M.,  40,  3,  40,  speaking  of  sons  " dhanavanto,  yafasvinah 
.  .  .  dharmisthd  jivanti  ca  iatam  samah,"  "Wealthy,  glorious,  law-abiding, 
and  who  live  a  hundred  years."  Here  ' dhanavantah'  is  equivalent  to  'dhani- 
nah' and  'dhanasthah1  above.  There  seems  not  much  difference  between 


10  THE   SEMANTIC   VARIABILITY  AND 

"oppido  longe  maximo  ac  copiossimo."  Caes.,  B.  G.,  I,  23. 
"L.  Memmius,  numquid  copiosior,  cum  copiosissimam  urbem 
funditussustulisset?"  Cic.,  O.,  II,  76.  "Antiochae, .  .  .  celebri 
quondam  urbe  et  copiosa."  id.,  Arch.,  3.  "mercatura,  si 
tenuis  est,  sordida  putanda  est;  sin  magna  et  copiosa,  .  .  . 
videtur  iure  Optimo  posse  laudari."  id.,  O.,  I,  151. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  how  by  a  change  of  noun  limited 
'copiosus'  becomes  a  quite  different  word. 

"vestra  oratio  in  causis  .  .  .  potest  esse  vehemens  et  gravis 
et  copiosa."  Cic.,  D.,  I,  80.  "Quos  .  .  .  Gn.  Pompeius 
copiosa  oratione  et  gravi  secum  .  .  .  contendere  iubebat."  id., 
Balb.,  59.  "ilia  elegantissima  viri  Crassi  copiosa  magis  quam 
sapiens  oratio  'eripite  nos  ex  servitute.'"  P.,  V,  41. 

To  a  theorist  who  looked  for  a  bridge  across  the  gap,  it  might 
be  interesting  to  note  such  examples  as:  "mihi,  non  copioso 
homini  ad  dicendum."  Cic.,  Caecen.,  64.  Here  the  'ad  di- 
cendum'  takes  the  meaning  of  'eloquent'  out  of  'copiosus,'  and 
leaves  it  'well  provided'  or  some  such  meaning.  It  would  be 
easy  to  leave  out  'ad  dicendum,'  and  put  the  whole  force  of  the 
meaning  '  eloquent '  into  '  copiosus.'  The  change  would  be  similar 
to  that  which  takes  place  when  'sermo'  absorbs  all  the  force  of 
'sermo  religiosus.'  A  second  example  is  "quorum  Graecorum 
copiosior  est  lingua  quam  nostra." 

A  well-equipped  tongue  must  be  eloquent.  To  determine  the 
historical  development  of  meaning  here  would  require  a  detailed 
semantic  study  of  '  copiosus  '  beyond  the  limits  of  this  article. 

'Opulentus'  has  this  meaning  usually,  "cum  ad  praedam 
opulentissimae  gentis  ire  vidissent."  Livy,  XL,  57.  "urbs 
maxima  opulentissimaque  Italiae."  id.,  VII,  31.  "virtute  ac 
dis  volentibus  magni  estis  et  opulenti."  Sal.,  Jug.,  14.  "qui 
ignoratione  virtutis  .  .  .  opulentos  homines  et  copiosos  .  .  . 
esse  optimos  putant."  Cic.,  R.,  I,  51.  Note  here  the  content  of 
copiosus  is  determined  by  opulentus. 

X.  'Subject  to.'  "dicimus  gravedinosos  quosdam,  quosdam 
torminosos,  non  quia  iam  sunt,  sed  quia  saepe."  Cic.,  T.,  IV,  27. 

these  words  and  mahadhana'  in  R.,  II,  36,  3,  "vanijaS  ca  mahddhandh,"  "and 
rich  merchants." 


SEMANTIC  EQUIVALENTS  OF  -OSO-  AND   -LENTO-.  11 

The  phrase  'non  quia  iam  sunt,  sed  quia  saepe'  shows  that 
'  gravedinosus '  and  '  torminosus '  are  here  used  of  those  who 
sometimes  have,  but  are  not  necessarily  at  the  time  of  speaking 
afflicted  with,  the  diseases  in  question. 

XL  'In  need  of.'  This  is  the  obvious  meaning  of  — oso — 
in  "senex  hie  elleborosus  est  certe,"  Plaut.,  Most.,  952,  and  of 
"quaeso,  sanus  es?  elleborosus  sum,"  id.,  Rud.,  1005-6.  He 
who  is  insane  needs  hellebore  for  his  cure. 

XII.  'Celebrated   in.'     This  is  the  meaning  of  — oso —  in 
"Ulixem  quidem  opinantur  longo  illo  et  fabuloso  errore  in  hunc 
Oceanum  delatum."     Tac.,  G.,  III.     So  also  in  "vel  quae  loca 
fabulosus  |  lambit  Hydaspes."     Hor.,  Carm.,  I,  22,  7.     And  in 
"me  fabulosae  Vulture  in  Apulo  |  .  .  .  palumbes."     id.,   Ill, 

4,9- 

The  wanderings  of  Ulysses,  the  river  Hydaspes,  and  the  doves, 
are  all  'celebrated  in  story.'  That  there  is  any  difference  in 
semantic  content  between  — oso —  in  'fabulosus'  and  in  'famo- 
sus'  (see  XIII  below),  is,  in  the  examples  quoted,  due  to  the 
stems.  In  'fabula'  there  is,  in  the  instances  given,  some  of  the 
verbal  force  of  'fari'  which  is  absent  in  'fama.'  A  thing  is  not 
'celebrated  in'  'fama,'  the  'fama'  is  itself  the  celebration.  It  is 
by  careful  examination  of  examples  such  as  these  that  the  slight 
and  almost  indefinable  psychological  differences  that  determine 
the  content  of  verbal  symbols  can  be  best  seen. 

XIII.  'Known  to.' 

"famosam  veneficiis  Martinam."  Tac.  3,  7.  "Placentiae, 
famosam  mulierem,  cuius  amore  deperiret  in  convivium  accersitam 
scribit."  Livy,  XXXIX,  43.  "eaque  velut  censura  in  Sariole- 
num  Voculam  et  Nonium  Actianum  et  Cestium  severum  acerrime 
incubuit  crebris  apud  Neronem  delationibus  famosos."  Tac., 
IV,  41 .  "quod  moechus  foret  aut  sicarius  aut  alioqui  |  famosus." 
Hor.,  Serm.,  I,  4,  5.  "tandem  nequitiae  fige  modum  tuae  | 
famosisque  laboribus."  id.,  Car.,  Ill,  15,  3. 

XIV.  'Composed  of.' 

"dives  curalio  fragili  et  lacrimoso  electro."  Verg.,  Cir.,  434. 
Here  according  to  the  story  the  electrum  was  made  of  the  tears 
of  Phaethon's  sisters. 


12  THE  SEMANTIC  VARIABILITY  AND 

"verbera  pellitus  saetosa  movebat  arator."  Prop.,  IV,  I,  25. 
The  whips  used  at  the  Lupercalia  were  hair  whips. 

!'non  pudet  herbosum '  dixi  '  posuisse  moretum.' '  Ov., 
Fast.,  IV,  367. 

XV.  'Fond    of,    addicted    to.'     This    meaning    is    found    in 
'vinosus,'  'virosus,'  'mulierosus.'     "sit  quoque  vinosi  Teia  Musa 
senis."     Ov.,  Ar.  Am.,  Ill,  330.     "cur  anus  hoc  faciat,  quaeris? 
vinosior    aetas  |  haec    erat."     id.,    Fast.    Ill,    765.     "laudibus 
arguitur  vini  vinosus  Homerus."     Hor.,  Epist.,  I,  19,  6.     "  virosa 
non  sum,  et  si  sum  non  desunt  mihi  qui  ultro  dent."     Afranius, 
Divortium,  VIII.     "  hunc  (Stilponem)  scribunt  ipsius  familiares  et 
ebriosum  et  mulierosum  fuisse."     Cic.,  Fa.,  10.     "homo  mulie- 
rosus  confert  me  alio  ilico."     Afranius,  Vopsicus,  XVI.     "  addidit 
(mulierosum)  esse  Socratem."     Cic.,  Fa.,   10.     "memini  quae 
plagosum  mihi  parvo  |  Orbilium  dictare."     Hor.,  Epist.,  II,  I,  70. 
It  may  be  worth  noting  here  as  an  instance  of  the  semantic  field 
to  which  some  adjectives  are  limited  by  the  stem,  that  in  general 
none  of  the  adjectives  in  XV  (or  XVI)  is  used  except  with  a 
word  denoting  a  person  or  persons ;  and  of  course  '  virosus '  is 
used  to  limit  some  woman's  name,  or  might  be  used  of  a  collective 
noun  meaning  women;  while  mulierosus  applies  only  to  men.* 

XVI.  'Under  the  influence  of.' 

Where  '  vinosus '  is  used  of  one  actually  intoxicated,  it  has  the 
definite  semantic  content  given  here.  Hor.  Ep.  I,  13,  14,  may 
be  quoted  here  as  it  is  only  the  name  Pyrrhia  that  is  in  doubt, 
and  the  meaning  of  '  vinosa  '  is  plain:  "ne  forte  sub  ala  |  fascicu- 
lum  portes  librorum  ut  rusticus  agnum  |  ut  vinosa  glomus  furtivae 
Pyrrhia  lanae."  So  — lento —  in  '  vinolentus '  and  'temulentus  ': 
"  haec  utrum  esse  vobis  consilia  siccorum  an  vinolentorum  .  .  .  vi- 
dentur?"  Cic.  Leg.  Agr.,  I,  i.  "cum  in  publico  epulatus  rever- 
teretur  domum  temulentus,  prosequentibus  mollibus  viris." 
Livy,  XXXIII,  28.  The  man  comes  home  drunk.  The  definite 
semantic  content  is  given  by  the  whole  setting.  "Vitellius  .  .  . 
medio  diei  temulentus  et  sagina  gravis."  Tac.,  I,  62,  8.f 

*  Sanskrit  parallels  'mulierosus'  with  a  compound  of  ' strV — 'a  woman,' 
and  'kdma,' — 'passion.'  T.S.,  6.1.6.5,  "  strikdmd  vdi  Gandharvdh,"  "the 
Gandharvas  are  fond  of  women." 

f  Fay's  etymology  of  '  vinolentus,'  K.  Z.,  1912,  has  been  noted  but  is  not  of 


SEMANTIC  EQUIVALENTS   OF  -OSO-  AND  -LENTO-.  13 

"vocem  Claudii,  quam  temulentus  iecerat,  .  .  .  metuens." 
Tac.,  12,  64.  "Vitellius  ...  ad  omnis  nuntios  .  .  .  trepidus, 
dein  temulentus."  id.,  Ill,  56,  8.  "visa  inter  temulentos  arma 
cupidinem  sui  movere."  id.,  I,  80,  8.  Enough  examples  have 
been  given  to  show  the  specific  meaning  of  "under  the  influence 
of  liquor*'  attached  to  temulentus. 

"pressa   voce   et    temulenta."     Cic.,    sen.,    13.     Here    'te- 
mulentus '  is  simply  a  transferred  epithet. 

XVII.  'Prone  to/ 

"ego  P.  Claudium  arbitror  .  .  .  civem  .  .  .  libidinosum." 
id.,  Phil.,  VIII,  1 6.  "cum  te  .  .  .  tyrannum  libidinosum  .  .  . 
praebueris."  id.,  Verr.,  I,  82.  "libidinosa  et  intemperans 
adulescentia  effetum  corpus  tradit  senectuti."  id.,  C.,  29. 
"  Carthaginienses  fraudulent!  et  mendaces  non  generesed  natura 
loci."  id.,  Leg.  Agr.,  II,  95.  "malitiosum?  non  negas.  fraudu- 
lentum?  iam  id  quidem  arrogas  tibi  et  praeclarum  putas."  id., 
Quint.,  56.  In  the  examples  given  here  the  persons  concerned  are 
not  at  any  particular  moment  specified  under  the  influence  of 
passion  or  perpetrating  any  fraud ;  but  they  are  inclined  to  act 
under  the  influence  of  passion  or  fraud  or  deceit  as  the  case 
may  be. 

XVIII.  'Afflicted  with.' 

"  podagrosi  estis,  ac  vicistis  cochleam  tarditudine."  PL,  Poen., 
532.  "sed  tamen  podagrosis  pedibus  essel;  Eutychus."  id., 
Merc.,  595.  "insomnis  siquis  est  vel  seniosus,  hac  eadem 
curatione  sanum  fades."  Cato,  R.  R.,  157,  8.  "est  limus 
salivae  sub  lingua  rabiosi  canis."  Plin.,  XXIX,  5,  32.  "nam 
dudum  uxorem  aiebat  rabiosam  canem."  Plaut.,  Men.,  936. 
"hac  rabiosa  fugit  canis,  hac  lutulenta  ruit  sus."  Hor.,  Epist., 
II,  2,  75.  "Hegio  istic  homo  rabiosus  habitus  est  in  Aulide." 
Plaut.,  Capt.,  547. 

In  each  of  these  examples  it  is  to  be  noted  that  to  get  the 
meaning  'afflicted  with*  two  things  are  necessary:  first,  a  stem 
for  the  adjective  denoting  some  kind  of  disease;  second,  some 
noun  limited  which  must  be  affected  by  the  disease. 

importance  for  this  discussion.  There  is  further  an  interesting  parallel  in 
Sanskrit  for  these  'vinum'  words,  which  will  be  noticed  in  chapter  II  of  this 
thesis  under  the  termination  — biba. 


14  THE    SEMANTIC   VARIABILITY  AND 

In  IX  above  '  gravedinosus '  means,  as  was  pointed  out  above, 
'subject  to'  and  the  exact  semantic  content  was  defined  by  the 
context.  So  here  "vicistis  cochleam  tarditudine"  makes  it 
clear  that  the  person  addressed  is  laboring  under  the  disease  at 
that  very  time. 

XIX.  There  is  a  shift  of  meaning  to  'diseased  in'  (sc.  spleen) 
in  'lienosus.'     This  fact  is  of  course  due  to  the  change  of  the 
stem  from  the  name  of  the  disease  (XVIII)  to  the  name  of  the 
organ  diseased,     "sicut  Pyrrho  regi  pollex  in  dextro  pede  cuius 
tactu  lienosis  medebatur."     Plin.,  N.  H.,  VII,  20. 

XX.  'As  tough  as.' 

"haec  fert  in  Aegypto  Syriaque  .  .  .  lignosum  fructum, 
maiorem  galla,  asperum  tactu."  Plin.,  XXIV,  42.  "sylvestri 
folia  elelisphaci,  alta,  ramis  lignosis."  id.,  XXV,  73. 

In  the  first  case  'lignosum'  must  mean  'tough  as  wood,' 
because  toughness  is  what  is  always  thought  of  when  fruit  is 
spoken  of  as  woody.  In  the  second  case  the  meaning  is  clear; 
the  branches  of  the  shrub  are  like  wood  in  consistency,  not  soft 
or  pithy. 

XXI.  'Near.' 

"callais  sappirum  imitatur,  candidior,  et  litoroso  mari 
similis."  Plin.,  XXXVII,  10,  56. 

This  is  a  peculiarly  good  instance  of  the  exact  delimitation  of 
semantic  content  by  the  limited  noun  and  the  remoter  context. 
'Litorosum  mare'  might  mean  "a  sea  with  a  shore,"  though  this 
would  be  a  rather  pointless  phrase;  the  callais  is  a  precious 
stone,  the  turquoise;  it  is  like  sapphire,  but  clearer  and  like  the 
sea — the  sea  'with  a  shore'  is  an  impossible  meaning — and  the 
meaning  must  be  'near  the  shore.' 

XXII.  'Open,  or  exposed  to.' 

This  is  a  common  meaning  of  ventosus.  "  ubi  satis  foderis  turn 
fornaci  locum  facito,  uti  quam  altissima  et  quam  minime  ventosa 
siet."  Cato,  R.  R.,  XXXVIII,  3.  "terra  umidior  qua  Gallias, 
ventosior  qua  Noricum  aspicit."  Tac.,  G.,  V,  3.  "et  est  ven- 
tosissima  regio  inter  Cyclades."  Livy,  XXXVI,  43.  "stabula 
idoneo  loco  ut  sint,  ne  ventosa,  quae  spectent  magis  ad  orientem." 
Varro,  R.  R.,  II,  2,  7.  "nam  loca  declarat  sursum  ventosa 
patere."  Lucr.,  VI,  468. 


SEMANTIC  EQUIVALENTS  OF  -OSO-  AND  -LENTO-.  15 

XXIII.  'Tossed  by.'     In  some  cases  'ventosus'  used  with  a 
noun  denoting  the  sea  means  more  than  'open  to';  "qui  mare 
temperat  |  ventosum."     Hor.  Carm.,  Ill,  4,  46.     Here  the  exact 
definition  comes  through  'temperat.'     "aut  ubi  ventosum  super- 
aris   naufragus   aequor."     Ovid,    Ibis,    593.     Here   'naufragus' 
requires  a  stronger  term  than  'open  to'  in  'ventosus.' 

XXIV.  'Fickle  as.' 

"pars  altera  regiae  adulationis  erat  quos  aes  alienum  et  despe- 
ratio  rerum  suarum  eodem  manente  statu  praecipites  ad  novanda 
omnia  agebat;  quosdam  ventosum  ingenium  quia  Perseus  magis 
aurae  popularis  erat."  Livy,  XLII,  30.  "non  ego  ventosae 
plebis  suffragia  venor."  Hor.,  Epist.,  I,  19,  37.  "Romae  Tibur 
amem  ventosus  Tibure  Romam."  id.,  I,  8,  12.  "extraordi- 
narium  imperium  populare  ac  ventosum  est."  Cic.,  Phil.,  XI,  17. 

XXV.  'Swift  as.'*  "primaque  ventosis  palma  petetur  equis." 
Ovid.,  Fasti,  IV.  392.     "idem  non  frustra  ventosas  addidit  alas." 
Prop.,  II,  12,  5. 

The  combination  of  swiftness  and  fickleness  may  be  found  in 
"tu  levis  es,  multoque  tuis  ventosior  alis."  Ovid,  Am.,  II,  9,  49. 
The  reference  is  to  Cupid,  and  he  is  fickle,  while  the  wings  are 
swift.  It  might  seem  an  easy  thing  to  find  such  shifts  of  the 
tertium  quid  comparationis  in  words  like  'ventosus'  which 
combine  several  qualities  of  about  equal  prominence;  but  ex- 
amples have  not  been  forthcoming. 

The  four  meanings  of  'ventosus'  given  above  are  worthy  of 
notice.  Each  one  is  carefully  limited  by  stem  and  noun.  'Swift- 
ness' and  'fickleness'  are  more  peculiarly  thought  of  as  inherent 
in  the  stem  'vento';  because  these  are  qualities  belonging  to 
wind.  Yet  here  the  fact  that  with  a  change  of  context  the 
content  changes,  shows  clearly  that  both  factors — stem  and 
noun  limited — must  be  taken  into  consideration.  So  with  the 
meaning  'tossed  by,'  or  'open  to.'  Sea  and  land  cannot  put 
these  contents  into  — oso —  without  a  proper  stem  for  the  ad- 

*  Sanskrit  parallels  'ventosus  equus'  by  a  construction  in  which  'ventosus' 
is  represented  by  a  compound  'vata,'  'wind,'  and  'vdja,'  'swiftness.'  MBh., 
3,  2898,  "haya  vatavajdh,"  "wind-swift  horses."  The  word  ' valavega,'  com- 
posed of  'vdta'  and  'vega,'  'swiftness,'  is  usually  the  name  of  a  hero,  but  in 
MBh.,  5,  3595,  is  used  as  an  epithet  of  Garuda. 


16  THE  SEMANTIC  VARIABILITY  AND 

jective.  The  sea  may  be  tossed  by  the  wind,  but  there  must  be 
wind  to  toss  it;  and  'mare  litorosum'  gives  a  quite  different  force 
to  — oso —  from  'mare  ventosum.'  So  'campus  aquosus'  gives 
a  different  content  to  — oso —  from  'campus  ventosus.' 

It  may  here  be  pointed  out  again,  at  the  risk  of  repetition, 
that  to  impose  any  one  general  meaning  on  — oso — ,  or  even  on 
'ventosus,'  is  a  begging  of  the  question.  The  general  meaning, 
where  it  can  be  imposed,  is  imposed  by  the  neglect  of  the  dis- 
tinctive elements  in  any  definite  context.  In  particular  in  the 
case  of  such  expressions  as  'equus  ventosus,'  without  the  proper 
tertium  quid  comparationis,  there  is  no  possibility  of  correct 
interpretation. 

XXVI.  'Susceptible  to,  injured  by.' 

"seritur  autem  semine  melius  quam  radice  aut  surculo,  semine 
quoque  non  sine  negotio;  plantaria  transferuntur  ...  sic  et 
Adonium  .  .  .  utrumque  aestate :  alsiosa  enim  admodum  sunt,  ut 
sole  tamen  nimio  laedantur."  Plin.,  XXI,  10,  34. 

Here  the  slips  are  liable  to  injury  by  either  heat  or  cold, 
"stabulatur  pecus  melius  ad  hibernos  exortus  si  spectat,  quod 
est  alsiosum."  Varro,  R.  R.,  II,  3,  6. 

XXVII.  '  Fit  for.' 

"omnis  autem  aqua  calida  ideo  quidem  est  medicamentosa." 
Vitr.,  193,4.  "  haec  avis  scribitur  (conchas)  .  .  .  evomere  atque 
ita  eligere  ex  eis  quae  sunt  esculenta."  Cic.,  N.,  II,  124.  "in 
ea  parte  oris  qua  esculentis  et  potulentis  iter  natura  patefecit." 
id.  141. 

In  each  instance  the  substances  spoken  of  are  fit  for  medicine, 
for  food,  or  for  drink  as  the  case  may  be. 

XXVIII.  'Clothed  in.' 

"pannosus  vacuis  aedilis  Ulubris."     Juv.,  X,  102. 
"paucis  pannosis  linea  lanterna."     Cic.,  A.,  IV,  3,  5. 
In  these  examples  "pannosus"  denotes  "clothed  in  shabby 
garments." 

XXIX.  'Smelling  of.'* 

"si  ligno  contigatur  vas,  adustum  et  fumosum  fieri  putant," 

*See  Sanskrit  parallel,  R.V.,  I,  162,  15.  "Agntr  .  .  .  dhumdgandhih," — 
11  Agni  smelling  of  smoke." 


SEMANTIC  EQUIVALENTS   OF  -OSO  AND  -LENTO-.  17 

i.  e.,  defrutum.     Plin.,  XVIII,  31,  74.     "vestemque  citrosam." 
Naev.,  I,  10.     Baeh.  Frag.  Poet.  Rom.  (vid.  Macr.,  3,  19,  5.). 

XXX.  'Colored  like/* 

"obrepsisti  ad  honores  errore  hominum,  commendatione 
fumosarum  imaginum,  quarum  simile  habes  nihil  praeter 
colorem."  Cic.,  Piso,  I. 

XXXI.  'Full  of.'     This  is  the  meaning  most  commonly  given 
to  — oso —  in  grammars  and  dictionaries.     Yet  — oso —  denoting 
actual  physical  fulness  is  rare.     The  two  following  examples  are 
perhaps  as  good  as  any  to  illustrate  that  meaning:  "et  in  primis 
terram  fac  ut  esse  rearis  |  supter  item  ut  supera  ventosis  undique 
plenam  |  speluncis,    multosque    lacus    multasque    lacunas  |  in 
gremio  gerere  et  rupes,  deruptaque  saxa,"  Lucr.,  VI,  537.     "alii 
ventosis  follibus   auras  |  accipiunt."     Verg.,    Aen.,    VIII,    449. 
In  the  latter  example,  however,  — oso —  means  rather  'contain- 
ing* than  'full  of/     There  are  further  very  many  instances  in 
which  by  some  ingenuity  — oso —  can  be  translated  'full  of  in 
some  metaphorical  sense.      In  Cic.,  N.,  I,  54,  "quis  enim  non 
timeat  .  .  .  curiosum,  et* plenum   negotii  deum?",   — oso —  is 
paralleled  by  '  plenus  '  but  '  plenus '  is  here  of  course  not  physi- 
cal.    There  are,  however,  instances  in  which  — oso —  is  tran- 
slated by  commentators  as  '  full  of '  where  it  seems  hard  to  find 
a  justification  for  the  translation  even  though   it   be  regarded 
as  metaphorical.     For  instance,  'fabulosus'  in  Tac.,  G.,  V,  3, 
"ceterum  et  Ulixen  quidam  opinantur   longo  illo   et   fabuloso 
errore  in  hunc  Oceanum  delatum" — is  translated  as  'full  of 
legends/     But  the  'error'  is  not  full  of  legends  in  any  sense, 
literal  or  figurative.     If  the  phrase  'full  of  is  to  be  used  at  all, 
it  would  be  more  proper  to  say  that  the  legends  are  '  full  of '  the 
'error,'  but  the  expression  would  never  have  occurred  here,  were 
it  not  for  the  preconceived  notion  that  — oso —  must  in  some 
fashion  be  connected  with  the  adjective  'full.' 

*The  following  Sanskrit  parallels  are  noted:  MBh.,  13,  3769.  "dhumrd 
dhenuh" — "smoke-colored  cow."  Here  the  suffix  — ra  performs  in  Sanskrit 
the  function  performed  in  Latin  by  — oso — .  '  Varna '  in  Sanskrit  means 
'color';  and  this  word  is  added  to  dhilmra,  which  may  already  mean  "smoke- 
colored,"  without  any  change  of  semantic  content.  MBh.,  3,  16348,  " rksandm  • 
dhiimravarnanam" — "of  the  smoke-colored  bears." 


18  SEMANTIC   VARIABILITY 

The  consideration  of  the  semantic  variability  of  — oso —  and 
— lento —  might  be  extended.  The  difference  of  semantic  content 
is  great;  and  careful  examination  of  all  concrete  instances  of  the 
occurrence  of  these  terminations  shows  an  almost  infinite  di- 
versity. The  aim  of  the  first  part  of  this  dissertation,  however, 
is  to  set  forth  a  number  of  examples  in  which  the  differences  are 
clear  and  striking.  It  is  not  desirable  to  create  differences  where 
none  exist,  to  force  into  wider  divergence  very  minute  differences 
which  might  offer  some  chance  for  discrimination  in  translation 
or,  generally,  to  dwell  too  strongly  on  every  slightest  variation. 
To  do  this  would  lead  to  a  separate  statement  of  each  of  the 
three  thousand  odd  examples.  It  is  believed  that  the  conclusion 
so  far  reached  is,  that  it  is  useless  to  load  — oso — ,  — lento — ,  or 
indeed  any  other  termination,  with  a  large  and  general  meaning, 
and  then  try  to  force  the  suffix  into  that  meaning  in  each  particular 
instance  of  its  occurrence;  and  that  the  true  way  to  consider 
such  a  termination  is  as  a  transparent  and  fluid  thing  -that  takes 
shape  and  color  from  its  environment. 


CHAPTER   II. 

§7- 
THE  SEMANTIC  EQUIVALENTS  OF  — oso —  AND  — lento — . 

The  first  feature  of  comparison  between  case  suffixes  and 
adjective  terminations  lies  in  the  fact  that  a  variety  of  semantic 
content  may  be  found  in  one  suffix  according  to  its  context. 
The  second  is,  that  several  terminations  may  be  used  with  one 
and  the  same  semantic  content,  also  according  to  context. 
That  is,  there  are  many  contexts  where  the  necessary  content 
is  simply  forced  upon  the  termination.  The  result  is  then,  that 
any  termination  in  such  context  must  have  the  required  meaning. 
The  number  of  suffixes  that  thus  clearly  interchange  with  — oso — 
and  — lento —  is,  as  far  as  has  been  discovered  in  this  investiga- 
tion, fourteen;  to  which  has  been  added  one  example  wherein 
the  prefix  in —  equals  — oso — . 

This  identity  of  semantic  content  may  be  seen  most  clearly 
where  the  same  stem  uses  two  or  more  terminations  with  the 
same  or  a  similar  noun  limited.  Equivalence  may  be  shown  in 
those  instances  where  one  stem  confines  itself  to  one  termination, 
while  a  similar  stem  uses  a  different  termination  with  the  same 
or  a  similar  noun  limited.  Examples  of  each  kind  are  considered 
valid  for  the  purpose  of  demonstrating  parallelism  with  case 
suffix  phenomena,  and  are  used  indifferently  wherever  con- 
venient. 

§8. 

The  following  terminations  are  used  with  semantic  content 
equivalent  to  that  of  — oso —  as  illustrated  in  the  parallel  passages 
quoted. 

I.  —bili—. 

"nee  vero  dubito  quin  exitiosum  bellum  impendeat."  Cic.f 
A.,  IX,  9,  2.  "bellum  terra  et  mari  comparat,  non  iniustum 
ille  quidem,  sed  cum  pium,  turn  etiam  necessarium,  suis  tamen 
civibus  exitiabile,  nisi  vicerit,  calamitosum,  etiamsi  vicerit." 
id.,  A.,  X,  4,  3. 

19 


20  THE  SEMANTIC  VARIABILITY  AND 

These  two  examples  go  well  together.  There  is  no  difference 
between  'bellum  exitiosum'  and  'helium  exitiabile.'  The 
termination  — bill —  is  often  regarded  as  a  passive  termination; 
add  it  to  a  stem  'exitio,'  and  use  it  to  limit  a  noun  'bellum,'  and 
it  can  no  more  retain  a  passive  force  than  wax  in  a  mould  can 
retain  an  independent  shape.  So  in  the  second  example  though 
'calamitas'  and  'exitium'  are  words  of  the  same  general  type, 
and  though  'exitiosus'  is  a  good  Ciceronian  adjective,  'exit- 
iabile' is  used  to  limit  'bellum'  followed  immediately  after  by 
'calamitosum.'  The  only  possible  difference  in  the  'exitiabile' 
and  'exitiosum'  quoted  is  that  'exitiabile'  is  followed  by  a 
dative.  But  'exitiosum'  may  be  followed  by  a  dative  also;  as 
in  "quibus  a  servis  atque  a  servorum  ducibus  caedem  fieri  senatus 
et  bonorum  rei  publicae  exitiosum  fuisset."  Cic.,  Plane.,  87. 
"bellum  Hernumduris  prosperum,  Chattis exitiosius."  Tac.,  13, 
57.  "exitiosum  ad  versus  veteranos  proelium."  id.,  I,  68. 
"(proelium)  his,  rursus  illis  exitiabile,"  id.,  Ill,  22.  "exitia- 
bilem  in  suos,  infensum  rei  publicae  animum  obiecit."  id.,  6,  24. 
"morbo  exitiabili  correptos."  id.,  16,  5.  "quod  reus  .  .  .  sibi 
exitiabile  intellegit."  id.,  3,  15.  "exitiabile  id  rei  publicae, 
ingratum  militi."  id.,  II,  69.  "exitiabilis  superstitio."  id., 
15,  44.  "quod  maxime  exitiabile  tulere  ilia  tempora."  id.,  6,  7. 
"ne  vana  et  reo  non  profutura,  intercessori  exitiosa  inciperet." 
id.,  16,  26.  "nee  cuiquam  mortem  Germanici  exitiosam  esse." 
id.,  3,  8.  "desererent  regem  saevum  in  pace  et  adversis  proe- 
liorum  exitiosum."  id.,  6,  36.  "pestilentia  gravis  incidit  in 
urbem,  .  .  .  quae  tamen  magis  in  morbos  longos  quam  in  pernici- 
abiles  evasit."  Livy,  XXVII,  23.  "pestilentia  coorta  minacior 
tamen  quam  perniciosior."  id.,  IV,  52.  "morbi  perniciosiores 
pluresque  sunt  animi  quam  corporis."  Cic.,  T.,  Ill,  5. 

The  following  examples  are  of  — bill —  and  — oso —  used  on 
similar  stems  limiting  the  same  noun  or  similar  nouns. 

"quae  (opiniones)  honestae,  quae  laudabiles,  quae  gloriosae 
sint."  Cic.,  F.,  II,  77.  "quod  tale  .  .  .  (est)  id  etiam  glo- 
riosum,  si  vero  gloriosum,  certe  laudabile;  quod  laudabile  autem, 
prof ecto  etiam  honestum."  id.,  T.,  V,  43.  " quid  habet  ista  res 
aut  laetabile  aut  gloriosum."  id.,  T,  I,  49. 


SEMANTIC  EQUIVALENTS  OF  -OSO  AND  -LENTO-.  21 

II.  —  ri— ,  — li— . 

"in  quo  genere  omnia  (i.  e.  animalia)  magis  exitialia  si  suum 
genus  edere  antequam  noceant."  Plin.,  Nat.  Hist.,  X,  72,  93. 
''perditae  civitates,  desperatis  omnibus  rebus  hos  solent  exitus 
exitiales  habere  ut  damnati  in  integrum  restituantur,  vincti 
solvantur,  exules  reducantur,  res  iudicatae  rescindantur." 
Cic.,  Verr.,  II,  12. 

"pars  stupet  innuptae  donum  exitiale  Minervae."  Verg., 
Aen.,  II,  31. 

In  each  case  there  is  an  active  meaning  in  the  -alis  adjective, 
as  in  'exitiosus*  and  '  exitiabilis '  above. 

"erat  forte  brumae  tempus  et  nivalis  dies."  Livy,  XXI,  54. 
"insignis  annus  hieme  gelida  ac  nivosa."  id.,  V,  13.  "maxime 
tamen  curavit  historiae  fabularis  notitiam."  Suet.,  Tib.,  70. 
"Marsyas  amnis  fabulosis  Graecorum  carminibus  inclytus." 
Curt.,  Ill,  I.  "tuus  videlicet  salutaris  consulatus,  perniciosus 
meus."  Cic.,  Phil.,  II,  15.  "hie  magna  quaedam  exoritur, 
neque  ea  naturalia  sed  artificiosa  somniorum  interpretatio."  id., 
Div.,  I,  116.  "duo  enim  genera  divinandi  esse  dicebas,  unum 
artificiosum,  alterum  naturale."  id.,  II,  26.  "ea  genera  divi- 
nandi, non  naturalia  sed  artificiosa  dicuntur."  id.,  I,  72. 

III.  — eo — ,  — aceo — ,  — uceo — . 

The  word  'robustus*  is  used  in  the  sense  of  'oaken.' 
"eo  capitulum  robustum  indito."  Cato,  R.  R.,  18.  "robustam 
materiam."  Col.,  2,15.  "robusto  carcere."  Plaut.,  Cure.,  5, 
692.  "robusti  caudices."  Plin.,  XI,  37,  55.  "robusta  repa- 
gula."  Ov.  Met.,  V,  120.  In  the  same  sense  are  used  "axibus 
roboreis."  Col.,  VI,  19,  i.  id.,  VI,  30,  2.  In  these  examples 
— to —  is  used  in  the  orthodox  sense  of  — eo — .  "nascitur 
(smyrion)  et  in  saxosis  collibus  et  in  terrenis."  Plin.,  XXVII, 
109.  "gignuntur  in  sinu  Adriatici  maris,  non  procul  a  Timavo 
fonte,  saxoso  colle."  id.,  XIV,  8.  "phyllon  a  Graecis  vocatur 
herba  in  saxosis  collibus."  id.,  XXVII,  100.  "reliquae  tres, 
quae  orbem  terrarum  implevere  fama,  sane  conspicuae  undique 
adnavigantibus,  sitae  sunt  in  parte  Africae  monte  saxeo  sterilique 
inter  Memphim  oppidum  et  quod  appellary  diximus  Delta." 
id.,  XXXVI,  16.  "erat  inter  ceteram  planitiem  mons  saxeus." 


22  THE   SEMANTIC   VARIABILITY   AND 

Sal.,  Jug.,  92.  In  Ovid  occur  "sanguineus"  and  " sanguinolen- 
tus"  with  no  distinction. 

"si  manus  haec  aliquod  posset  commitere  crimen,  |  morte  foret 
dominae  sanguinolenta  meae."  Her.,  XIV,  60.  " sanguineaque 
manu  crepitantia  concutit  arma."  Met.,  I,  143.  "haec  san- 
guineum  sucum  emittit."  Plin,  N.  H.,  XXV,  6,  32.  "colores 
vinis  quattuor,  albus,  fulvus,  sanguineus,  niger."  id.,  XIV,  9,  n. 

"ille  color  vere  sanguinolentus  erat."      Ov.,  Am.,  I,  12,  12. 

The  word  'spumeus'  interchanges  with  'spumosus.' 

"ad  medicinae  usus  antiqui  Tarentinum  (sal)  maxime  lauda- 
bant,  ab  hoc  quemcumque  e  marinis,  ex  eo  genere  spumeum  prae- 
cipue."  Plin.,  XXXI,  86.  "(torrens)  spumeus  et  fervens." 
Ov.,  Met.,  Ill,  571.  "magna  differentia  et  in  coloresuci:  san- 
guineus moris,  cerasis,  cornis,  uvis  nigris;  idem  albis  candidus, 
lacteus  in  capite  ficis,  in  corpore  non  item,  spumeus  malis,  nullus 
Persicis,  cum  praesertim  duracina  suco  abundent."  Plin.,  XV, 
28.  " pauca cum  (i.e.  pulmonem) ,  ut dictum est, habent aquatilia, 
cetera  ova  parientia  exiguum  spumosumque  nee  sanguineum." 
id.,  XI,  188.  "dant  sonitum  spumosi  amnes  et  in  aequora  cur- 
runt."  Verg.,  A.,  XII,  524.  "  (quid  ferret  aut)  recusaret  collis, 
quid  campestris  positio,  quid  cultus,  quid  silvester  ager,  quid  hum- 
idus  et  graminosus,  quid  siccus  et  spurcus."  Col.,  I,  praef.  25. 
"hoc  pius  Aeneas  misso  certamine  tendit  |  gramineum  in  cam- 
pum."  Verg.,  Aen.,  V,  287.  "pannosus  vacuisaedilis  Ulubris." 
Juv.,  X,  1 02.  "dum  ne  deterius  sapiat  pannucia  Baucis."  Pers., 
IV,  21.  "spelunca  alta  fuit,  vastoque  immanis  hiatu  |  scrupea." 
Verg.,  A.,  VI,  238.  "inde  Aetnam  montem  advenio  in  scruposam 
specum."  T.  F.  Pac.  Niptra,  VI. 

IV.  —estro—. 

"  palustribus  locis  atque  uliginosis  nati,  habent  ungulas  molles." 
Varro,  R.  R.,  II,  8,  5.  "(locis)  montuosis  .  .  .  et  silvestri- 
bus."  Cic.,  Lael.,  68.  In  this  example  one  might  naturally 
expect  'silvosis'  instead  of  '  silvestribus ' ;  both  by  analogy -with 
'montuosis,'  and  because  if  the  idea  of  'abundance'  so  often 
said  to  belong  to  — oso —  were  really  inherent  in  it,  it  would 
seem  more  appropriate  that  — oso —  should  be  joined  with 
'silva'  than  with  'mons.'  But  Cicero  has  used  the  two  ter- 
minations with  no  apparent  difference. 


SEMANTIC   EQUIVALENTS   OF   -OSO-   AND   -LENTO-.  23 

"saltus  duo  alti  angusti  silvosique  sunt."  Livy,  IX,  2.  The 
following  example  repeated  from  the  preceding  section  is  too 
striking  to  be  omitted  here:  "(quid  ferret  aut)  recusaret  collis, 
quid  campestris  positio,  quid  cultus,  quid  silvester  ager,  quid 
humidus  et  graminosus,  quid  siccus  et  spurcus."  Col.,  I,  praef., 
25.  In  this  example  'silva,'  'humor,'  and  'gramen,'  are  used 
to  form  adjectives  with  the  terminations  respectively  — estro — •, 
— do — ,  and  — oso — ,  all  limiting  the  noun  'ager/  It  would  be 
impossible  to  find  any  difference  in  the  semantic  content  of  these 
terminations  in  the  sentence  quoted  except  such  as  is  imposed 
upon  them  by  the  character  of  the  stems  to  which  they  are 
attached,  "a  Cypselis  via  decem  milium  fere  silvestris,  angusta, 
confragosa  excipiebat."  Livy,  XXXVIII,  40. 

V.  — undo — ,  — cundo — ,  — tundo — .  "quae  (stellae)  globosae 
et  rotundae  .  .  .  circulos  suos  orbesque  conficiunt  celeritate  mira- 
bili."  Cic.,  R.,  VI,  15.  "nee  .  .  .  hunc  ipsum  mundum  pro 
certo  rotundum  esse  dicitis."  id.,  N.,  II,  48.  "  Epicurus  dicit  se 
non  posse  intellegere  qualis  sit  volubilis  et  rotundus  deus."  id., 
N.,  II,  46.  "(animantem)  globosum  (deus)  .est  fabricatus, 
quod  <r<£cupoeiSes  Graeci  vocant,"  i.  e.,  'mundum.'  id.,  Tim.,  17. 
'Iracundus'  falls  under  the  meaning  'prone  to,'  as  does  'libidi- 
nosus.'  "nam  timidus  terreri,  stultus  decipi,  iracundus  concitari, 
ambitiosus  inflari."  Quint.,  Inst.  Orat.,  V,  7,  26. 

"hominem  esse  barbarum,  iracundum,  temerarium."  Caes., 
B.  G.,  I,  31.  "Armeniaeque  tigris,  iracundique  leones."  Ov., 
Met.,  XV,  86.  "iracundaque  mens  facile  effervescit  in  ira." 
Lucr.,  Ill,  295.  "quo  saepius  monuerit,  hoc  rarius  castigabit. 
minime  iracundus."  Quint.,  II,  2,  5.  "libidinosum  et  iracun- 
dum .  .  .  censemus  esse  sapientem."  Cic.,  T.,  IV,  57.* 

Most  of  the  examples  quoted  are  self-evident.  It  might  be 
worth  while  here  again  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  nouns 
like  'globus'  and  'rota,'  which  have  one  very  prominent  quality, 
inject  the  force  of  that  quality  into  any  termination  whatever. 
It  may  be  questioned  whether  'globosus'  or  'rotundus'  occurs 

*  The  Sanskrit  parallel  to  '  libidinosus '  is  'kdmavrtta,'  a  compound  of 
'kdma,'  'passion,'  and  'vrtta'  past  participle  of  'or/,'  'to  turn.'  "ksatriyah 
kamavrttah"  "libidinous  warriors."  MBh.,  I,  6507.  Also  kdmin  (Gand- 
harvah)  M.,  3,  159,  17. 


24  THE  SEMANTIC  VARIABILITY  AND 

in  any  other  sense  than  'round*  either  literal  or  metaphorical. 
On  the  other  hand,  as  has  been  seen,  any  word  which  connotes  a 
number  of  qualities  of  relatively  equal  prominence  is  apt  to  occur 
in  contexts  which  require  the  force  of  any  one  of  the  different 
qualities  to  give  character  to  the  suffix.  Which  quality  it  is,  is 
usually  determined  by  the  noun  limited. 

VI.  — ario — . 

"ut  furti  reum  cupidum,  adulterii  libidinosum,  homicidii 
temerarium."  Quint.,  IV,  2,  52.  "hominem  esse  barbarum, 
iracundum,  temerarium."  Caes,  B.  G.,  I,  31. 

The  strongest  argument  is  of  course  to  be  found  in  the  example 
from  Quintilian.  There  is  here  absolutely  no  difference  in  the 
terminations  — do — ,  — oso — ,  and  — ario — ,  except  such  as  may 
be  given  them  by  the  stems.  'Cupidus'  is  one  who  is  prone  to 
greed;  'iracundus,'  one  prone  to  anger;  ' temerarius,'  one  prone 
to  rashness. 

VII.  —do—. 

"  herbosissima  .  .  .  stramenta."  Cato,  R.  R.,  54.  (vid.  Forcel- 
lini,  "  quae  herbas  multas  permixtas  habent.")  "  segetes  herbidas 
reddant."  Col.,  I,  6,  22.  "pascebant  herbosa  palatia  vaccae." 
Tib.,  II,  5,  25.  "maiores  herbida  tauros  |  non  habet  Epiros." 
Ov.,  Met.,  VIII,  282.  "quern  ceperant  exules  montem  herbidus 
aquosusque  est."  Livy,  XXIX,  31,  9.  "iacet  inter  eos  satis 
patens  clausus  in  medio  campus  herbidus  aquosusque."  id., 
IX,  2,  7.  "fumidis  cautibus."  Plin.,  V,  9,  10.  "item  infimi 
lapides  cocti  cadent,  et  flamma  minus  fumosa  exibit."  Cato, 
A.  C.,  38,  4.  "Pitheus  doliorum  cernitur  figura  in  concavo 
fumidae  lucis."  Plin.,  II,  25,  22.  "terra  umidior  qua  Gallias, 
ventosior  qua  Noricum  aspicit."  Tac.,  G.,  V,  3. 

Each  of  the  words  'lucidus,'  'luminosus,'  'luculentus'  is  used 
both  literally  and  figuratively.  '  Luculentus '  is  often  found  in  a 
generalized  sense  of  "excellent"  which  has  not  been  noted  in 
either  of  the  others,  "hereditas  |  magna  atque  luculenta." 
Plaut.,  True.,  345.  "qui  ex  naufragio  luculenti  patrimonii  ad 
haec  Antoniana  saxa  proiectus  est."  Cic.,  Phil.,  XII,  19.  This 
word  is  concrete  in  "camino  luculento  utendum  censeo."  id., 
Ep.,  VII,  10,  2.  Also  in  "omniaque  aedificia  ut  luminosa  sint 
oportet  curari,"  Vitr.,  148,  6,  'luminosa'  is  used  concretely. 


SEMANTIC  EQUIVALENTS  OF  -OSO-  AND  -LENTO-.  25 

Also  'lucidus'  though  in  a  different  context:  "insequitur  candens 
confestim  lucidus  aer."     Lucr.,  IV,  340. 

Each  of  these  words  is  used  in  connection  with  oratory,  "sunt 
maxime  luminosae  et  quasi  actuosae  partes  duae."  Cic.,  Orat., 
125.  "Tullius  .  .  .  orationem  habuit  luculentam  atque  utilem  rei 
publicae."  Sal.,  Cat.,  31.  "manifestaet  lucida  ratio."  Quint., 
IV,  5,3.  "(oratores)  tenues  .  .  .  lucidos  et  significantes."  id., 
XII,  10,  21.  "L.  Caelius  Antipater  .  .  .  scriptor  fuit  ut  tem- 
poribus  illis  luculentus."  Cic.,  Bru.,  102. 

VIII.  —  eno— . 

"nascitur  (smyrnion)  et  in  saxiosis  collibus  et  in  terrenis." 
Plin.,  XXVII,  109.  Here  again  there  is  no  possible  difference 
in  the  semantic  content  of  the  terminations  — oso —  and  — eno — 
except  such  slight  difference  as  may  be  imposed  on  them  by  the 
nouns  * saxum'  and  'terra.' 

The  meaning  of  '  living  in '  is  often  found  in  '  terrenus.'  "  idem 
tradit  in  Paphlagonia  effodi  pisces  gratissimos  .  .  .  terrenos  .  .  . 
quicquid  est  hoc,  certe  minus  admirabilem  talparum  facit  vitam, 
subterranei  animalis,  nisi  forte  vermium  terrenorum  et  his 
piscibus  natura  inest."  Plin.,  IX,  83.  — Oso — parallels — eno — 
nicely  in  "sin  autem  terrenum  aut  harenosum  erit  solum." 
Vitr.,  207. 

IX.  —ico—. 

"hie  Favonius  serenust,  istic  Auster  imbricus."  Plaut.  Merc., 
876. 

"saepe  notavi  |  alba  procelloso  vela  referre  Noto."  Ov., 
Her.,  II,  12.  "haec  e  tartarea  tenebrica  abstractum  plaga 
eduxit."  Cic.,  T.,  II,  9.  "qui  nunc  it  per  iter  tenebricosum." 
Cat.,  Ill,  ii.  "postquam  Saturno  tenebrosa  in  Tartara  misso.' 
Ov.,  Meta.,  I,  113.  "podagrosi  estis  et  vicistis  cochleam  tar- 
ditudine."  Plaut,  Poen.,  532.  "  feminae  podagricae  calvaeque." 
Sen.,  Ep.,  XV,  3,  21. 

X.  — io — .     "et  ex  hac  vel  optimatium  vel  factiosa  tyrannica, 
ilia  vel  regia,  vel  etiam  persaepe  popularis."    Cic.,  R.,  1, 45.    Here 
'rex,'    'tyrannus,'  'populus,'    'factio,' — each   word   might  have 
either  of  the  terminations  — io — ,  — ico — ,  — ri — ,  — oso — ,  with 
the  same   noun   limited — for   instance,    'dominatio,' — with   no 


26  THE   SEMANTIC  VARIABILITY   AND 

difference  in  the  semantic  content  of  the  termination.  The 
passage  occurs  after  a  break  in  the  MS.,  and  the  noun  is  not 
known;  but  its  general  nature — a  word  denoting  some  kind  of 
authority  or  rule — is  quite  evident. 

The  terminations  so  far  considered  as  equivalents  of  — oso — 
are  those  which,  whatever  their  origin,  do  not  carry  with  them 
any  distinct  force  due  to  etymological  connection  with  any  living 
word.  Four  more  remain  to  be  considered,  — fer,  — ger,  — ficus, 
and  — biba,  each  of  which  is  connected  with  a  verb.  It  is  quite 
easy,  however,  to  find  instances  in  which  these  terminations  are 
paralleled  by  — oso — .  When  this  occurs  it  is  because  — oso — 
stands  in  a  context  where  it  can  take  on  the  ordinary  signification 
of  the  other  termination.  Sometimes  the  stem  on  which  the 
adjective  is  formed  is  such  that  the  adjective  itself  has  usually 
only  the  meaning  of  'causing'  or  'suffering.'  In  such  instances, 
an  adjective  in  — fer  is  always  theoretically  possible  and  often 
found.  How  far  the  original  content  of  — fer  is  or  may  be  in 
some  instances  changed  is  a  subject  beyond  the  limits  of  the 
present  paper.  The  termination  — fer  is  chosen  to  illustrate 
what  is  found  in  all  the  other  suffixes  derived  from  verbs  that 
are  cited  above. 

XI.    —fer. 

There  is  no  difference  between  — oso —  and  — fer  when  used 
with  stem  umbra —  and  names  of  trees,  "inque  Academia  um- 
brifera."  Cic.,  D.,  I,  22.  Here  — fer  is  probably  passive, 
"nos  .  .  .  aurigeris  divom  placantes  numina  tauris,  |  sub  platano 
umbrifera."  id.  II,  63.  "circiter  meridianos  aestos,  dum  defer- 
vescant  sub  umbriferas  rupes  et  arbores  patulas  subiciunt  oves." 
Varr.,  R.  R.,  2,  2,  1 1.  "sic  umbrosa  tibi  contingant  tecta 
Priape."  Tibul.,  I,  4,  I.  "cui  folium  maximum  umbrosis- 
simumque,  et  ideo  supra  id  pomum."  Pliny,  XVI,  113.  "nullae 
ideo  pestes  nee  luctifer  ingruat  annus."  Val.  FL,  III,  454.  "qui 
(dies)  fuit  .  .  .  omnibus  bonis  luctuosus."  Cic.,  Sest.,  53. 
"praetereo  ilium  luctuosum  populo  Romano  diem."  id.,  Fr. 
B.,  VIII,  19. 

So  in  many  cases  there  is  no  difference  between  — lento — ,  — fer, 
—lent—,  "loca  .  .  .  'pulverulenta'  et  'pestilenta'."  Cell.,  XIX, 


SEMANTIC  EQUIVALENTS  OF  -OSO-  AND  -LENTO-.  27 

7.  "tu  unus  pestifer  civis."  Cic.,  Dom.,  85.  "hominem  pesti- 
lentiorem  patria  sua."  id.,  Fam.,  VII,  24.  "accessum  ad  res 
salutares,  a  pestiferis  recessum."  id.,  N.  D.,  II,  34.  "inter  loco- 
rum  naturas  quantum  intersit  videmus ;  alios  salubris,  alios  pesti- 
lentis."  id.,  Fat.,  IV,  7.  "et  Memphin,  palmiferamque  Pharon." 
Ov.,  Am.,  II,  13,  8.  "palmiferae  .  .  .  Thebai."  Prop.,  IV,  5,  25. 
"teque datis linquo  ventis,  palmosa  Selinus."  Verg.,  Aen.,  Ill,  705. 

XII.  —  ger. 

"setosii  apri."  Verg.,  Eel.,  7,  29.  "saetigeri  fetum  suis 
intonsamque  bidentem  |  attulit  (sacerdos)."  id.,  Aen.,  XII,  170. 
"nam  saetigeris  subus  acre  venenumst."  Lucr.,  VI,  974.  In 
every  case  ' saetiger'  is  used  of  the  whole  animal,  ' setosus*  is  often 
used  of  a  part,  "setosam  laevi  frontem  turpaverat  oris." 
Hor.,  Serm.,  I,  5,  61.  "  (tauri)  torva  fronte,  auribus  setosis." 
Plin.,  VIII,  45,  70. 

XIII.  —biba* 

"nomen  leaenaest — multibiba  atque  merobiba — PA.  quasi  tu 
lagoenam  dicis,  ubi  vinum  Chium  |  solet  esse.  PH.  quid  opus 
verbis?  vinosissimast."  Plaut.  Cure.,  75.  Here  — oso —  ex- 
presses the  same  relation  to  'vinum*  that  — biba  expresses  to 
'merum.' 

XIV.  —ficus. 

"luctifica  clades,  nostro  infixa  est  corpori."  Cic.,  T.,  II,  25. 
"vocem  dolori  lingua  luctifico  negat."  Sen.,  Phaed.,  995.  "at 
mihi  luctificum  venit  iubar."  Val.,  Fl.,  III,  292.  "at  tibi 
luctificis  pulsat  clangoribus  urbem."  Stat.,  Th.,  X,  552.  "non 
noctem  illam  .  .  .  luctuosam  perhorrescet?"  Cic.,  Cael.,  60. 
"huius  luctuosissimi  belli  semen  tu  fuisti."  id.,  Phil.,  II,  55. 
"o  diem  ilium  .  .  .  rei  publicae  luctuosum."  id.,  Sest.,  27. 
Throughout  all  these  examples  the  meaning  is  simply  the  active 
one,  'causing  grief. 'f 

*  The  Plautine  'merobiba'  has  an  exact  parallel  in  Sanskrit,  M.,  9,  20 
"madyapdh  kim  na  jalpanti?" — "What  nonsense  do  not  wine-drinkers 
talk?"  Madya  means  'wine,'  and  — pa  is,  of  course,  the  same  as — biba. 

t  Sanskrit  has  a  good  parallel  to  — -ficus  in  — kar,  verbal  from  '&r,'  'to 
make.'  It  is  active,  and  easily  paralleled  by  — oso — .  "aksadyute  samahvdnam 
.  .  .  janann  api  ksayakaram,"  "even  though  knowing  that  in  dice-play  the 
challenge  brings  destruction."  This  sentence  may  be  compared  with  "si 
damnosa  senem  juvat  alea,  ludit  et  heres."  Juv.,  XIV,  4. 


28  THE  SEMANTIC  VARIABILITY  AND 

XV.  'in — .'  Tacitus  gives  one  instance  of  — oso —  exactly 
paralleled  by  'in — .'  "isque  infamen  veneficiis  ea  in  provincia  et 
Plancinae  percaram,  nomine  Martinam  in  urbem  misit."  Ann., 
2,  74.  "a  Gn.  Sentio  famosam  veneficiis  Martinam  subita 
morte  Brundisii  extinctam."  id.  3.  7.  The  equivalents  could  not 
possibly  be  closer  in  semantic  content. 

The  following  passage  from  Lucretius  is  added  here  because  it 
furnishes  an  interesting  variety  of  terminations.  He  is  speaking 
of  the  mixture  of  'calor,'  'vapor,'  'aer'  and  the  fourth  nameless 
element  in  the  mind ;  and  of  the  proportion  of  each  in  the  minds 
of  various  animals. 

"sed  calidi  plus  est  illis  quibus  acria  corda 
iracundague  mens  facile  effervescit  in  ira; 
quo  genere  in  primis  vis  est  violenta  leonum, 
pectora  qui  fremitu  rumpunt  plerumque  gementes, 
nee  capere  irarum  fluctus  in  pectore  possunt. 
at  ventosa  magis  cervorum  frigida  mens  est 
et  gelidas  citius  per  viscera  concitat  auras, 
quae  tremulum  faciunt  membris  exsistere  motum. 
at  natura  bourn  placido  magis  aere  vivit 
nee  nimis  irai  fax  unquam  subdita  percit 
fumida,  suffundens  caecae  caliginis  umbra, 
nee  gelidis  torpet  telis  perfixa  pavoris, 
interutrasque  sitast,  cervos,  saevosque  leones." 

Lucr.,  Ill,  294. 

Perhaps  this  example  illustrates  this  section  of  the  thesis  as 
well  as  any  other  connected  passage  would.  By  studying  such 
a  passage  it  is  easy  to  see  the  fact  that  has  been  already  quite 
frequently  stated,  viz.  that  the  semantic  content  of  an  adjective 
termination  depends  chiefly  on  the  stem  upon  which  the  adjective 
is  formed,  and  the  noun  it  limits. 

The  conclusion  of  this  section  seems  as  good  a  place  as  any  to 
bring  together  some  interesting  Sanskrit  parallels  that  have 
been  observed.  The  word  'dharma,'  'law,  virtue,'  furnishes  in 
its  compounds  fair  parallels  to  '  religiosus ' :  "mahisi  dharma- 
carini"  MBh.,  3,  16637,  "a  virtuous  queen";  'carin'  is  verbal 


SEMANTIC  EQUIVALENTS  OF  -OSO-  AND  -LENTO-.  29 

from  'car,1  'to  go.'  Compare  "illam  feminam  esse  putatis  quam 
religiosam."  Cic.,  Verr.,  IV,  102.  " yatrdkrnvan  dharmadhfto 
ndmdnsi,"  "where  the  virtuous  ones  made  obeisance,"  A.  V.,  I, 
25,  i.  Here  compare  "ita  (te)  rogandum  ut  religiosum  testem 
arbitratur."  Cic.,  Vat.,  I.  See  also  " dhanavanto  yasasvinah  \ 
.  .  .  dharmisthd  jwanti  ca  satam  saniah"  M.,  3,  40.  "(sons 
who  are)  wealthy,  glorious,  law-abiding,  and  who  live  a  hundred 
years."  "  Vidarbho  raja  dharmdtmd"  "virtuous  king  of  Vidar- 
bha."  MBh.  3,  691.  In  the  latter  examples  — stha  is  a  verbal 
from  lstha'  'to  stand,'  ' dtman'  means  'soul,  self.'  Other  ex- 
amples are;  "yo  vanaspatindm  phalagrahih"  T.  S.,  5,  I,  I,  4, 
"whichever  of  the  trees  is  fruitful."  Compare  "(ulmus)  nulla 
potior  serenda  quod  maxime  fructuosa."  Varro,  R.  R.,  I,  15. 
The  verbal  'grahi'  is  from  'grah,'  'to  seize';  'phala'  means 
'  fruit.'  No  exact  parallel  has  been  found  in  Latin  for  '  bahuparna* 
in  the  sentence  "bahuparnam  tasmdi  bahusdkham  viscet,"  "let 
one  break  off  for  him  (a  tree)  having  many  leaves,  many  boughs," 
T.  S.,  6,  3,  3,  4.  The  word  'bahu'  means  'much,'  'parna'  'a 
leaf,'  'sdkha,'  'a  limb.'  In  "quaeque  regis  Golgos,  quaeque 
Idalium  frondosum,"  Cat.,  64,  96,  'frondosum'  does  not  make  a 
parallel,  because  '  Idalium'  does  not  mean  a  tree  of  any  sort,  but  a 
mountain  and  city.  In  "nam  et  maiores  et  magis  ramosas 
arbores  caedebant."  Livy,  XXXIII,  5,  6,  'frondosae'  fur- 
nishes an  appropriate  approximate  parallel  to  'bahusdkha.'  A 
much  better  parallel  is  'ramosa'  in  "sed  neque  ramosa  numerabis 
in  ilice  glandes."  Ovid,  Ar.  Am.,  Ill,  149. 

The  variety  of  Sanskrit  suffixes  or  independent  words  that 
give  the  semantic  content  given  in  Latin  by  — oso —  is,  as  may 
be  seen  in  the  examples  quoted,  great.  Of  suffixes,  strictly 
speaking,  four  have  been  found:  — ra,  — vat,  — in,  — na;  of 
verbals,  eight,  — dhrt,  — kar,  — stha,  — pa,  — srita,  — grahi,  — carin, 
— vrtta;  of  living  independent  words,  nine:  gandhi,  vaja,  dtman, 
sakhi,  bahu',  kdma,  maha,  vega,  varna. 

This  chapter  has  so  far  been  employed  in  discussing  adjective 
terminations  equivalent  in  semantic  content  to  — oso,  or  — lento — • 
with  suggestive  examples  from  the  Sanskrit.  The  remainder  of 
it  will  be  devoted  to  a  consideration  of  semantic  equivalents  for 


30  THE   SEMANTIC  VARIABILITY  AND 

— oso —  and  — lento —  other  than  adjective  terminations.  Paral- 
lels are  added,  which,  through  not  strict  equivalents,  are  often 
very  suggestive. 

In  nouns  formed  with  the  agent  suffix  — tor,  there  can  seldom 
be  exact  equivalence  with  — oso — ,  but  that  fact  is  due  to  the 
nature  of  the  stems  on  which  the  suffixes  are  formed.  These 
stems  usually  require  a  different  meaning  in  their  respective 
suffixes.  For  instance,  'amator'  and  'vinosus,'  which  are  often 
found  in  close  conjunction,  differ  chiefly  in  the  fact  that  here 
the  verb  stem  requires  in  its  suffix  some  meaning  which  shall 
represent  the  doer  or  sufferer  of  the  action  expressed,  in  this 
case  the  former.  But  if  for  'vinosus'  be  substituted  'bibosus' 
(non  mammosa,  non  annosa,  non  bibosa,  non  procax,  Dec.  Lab., 
Sal.)  the  equivalence  of  — oso —  with  the  — tor  of  'amator' 
becomes  exact.*  "invidus,  iracundus,  iners,  vinosus,  amator." 
Hor.  Epist.,  I,  I,  38.  Here  the  difference  in — do — ,  — cundo — , 
— oso — ,  and  — tort  such  as  it  is,  must  clearly  lie  in  the  stem. 
In  each  instance  a  certain  permanent  type  is  denoted,  "si 
de  damnoseis  aut  si  de  amatoribus."  Plaut.,  Pseud.,  415.  This 
is  not  so  good  a  parallel,  because  'damnum'  is  a  quite  different 
sort  of  thing  from  'vinum.'  "utrum  te  perfidiosum  an  prae- 
varicatorem  existumari  mavis."  Cic.,  div.  Caec.,  58.  Here  the 
parallel  is  close. 

Not  only  is  it  true  that  the  noun  suffix  — tor  may  thus  function 
as  an  equivalent  to  — oso — ;  the  participial  terminations  — ant 
and  — ent  often  function  in  the  same  way.  "utimur  exemplis 
somniantium,  furiosorum,  ebriosorum."  Cic.,  A.,  II,  53.  In 
this  example  — ant  corresponds  as  closely  to  the  different  in- 
stances of  — oso —  as  they  do  to  each  other. 

"dormientium  et  vinulentorum  .  .  .  visa  imbecilliora  esse 
dicebas  et  furiosorum  quam  vigilantium."  Cic.,  A.,  II,  88. 
"quamvis  sis,  ut  es,  vinulentus  et  furens."  id.,  Phil.,  II,  68. 
"nihil  eminens,  nihil  lacunosum."  id.,  N.,  II,  47.  "ut  (id) 

*  If  the  time  for  the  formation  of  the  compounds  could  be  pushed  back 
before  the  clear  differentiation  of  nouns  and  verbs,  the  parallel  with  '  vinosus ' 
would  be  complete;  and  as  it  stands  the  meaning  'addicted  to'  is  expressed 
in  both  terminations.  See  Whitney's  review  of  Delbriick's  Vedic  Syntax. 
A.  J.  P.,  1892,  p.  274. 


SEMANTIC   EQUIVALENTS   OF   -OSO-   AND   -LENTO-.  31 

haberet  .  .  .  nihil  eminens  nihil  lacunosum."  id.,  Ti.,  17. 
"semper  audax,  petulans,  libidinosus."  id.,  Sulla,  71.  "cupido 
autem  et  expetenti  et  libidinoso  et  volutabundo  in  voluptatibus." 
id.,  R.,  II,  68.  "superbiam,  verborum  praesertim,  iracundi 
oderunt,  prudentes  irrident."  Livy,  XLV,  23.  "bonum  et 
innocentem  principem  pro  pessimis  et  flagitiosissimis  expeti- 
tum."  Tac.,  II,  37,  10.  "(fluvius)  spumosis  volvitur  undis." 
Ov.,  Met.,  I,  570.  In  the  following  example  'spumans'  is 
exactly  equivalent  to  'spumosus.'  "quod  mare  conceptum 
spumantibus  expuit  undis."  Catul.,  64,  155.  "recentem  | 
caede  locum  et  plenos  spumanti  sanguine  rivos."  Verg.,  Aen., 
IX,  456. 

The  characteristics  of  — oso —  and  — lento —  which  made  it 
possible  to  parallel  them  by  case  suffixes  were:  (i)  variability  of 
semantic  content;  (2)  variety  of  terminations  with  identical 
semantic  content  with  which  they  may  be  paralleled. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  genitive  case  performs  the  functions  of 
an  adjective.*  It  is  true,  too,  that  a  descriptive  ablative,  so- 
called,  may  perform  a  similar  function.  Also  an  ablative  or 
dative  may  equal  a  prepositional  phrase.  This  variety  of  ex- 
pression of  one  semantic  content  is  quite  familiar  to  anyone  who 
has  read  any  Latin.  Therefore,  to  perfect  the  parallel,  there 
should  be  instances  in  which  — oso —  is  equivalent  to  other  things 
besides  terminations,  either  colorless  or  colored  by  verbal  con- 
nection. This  is  precisely  what  occurs;  and  in  the  following 
pages  examples  have  been  chosen  to  illustrate  this  fact.  — Oso — , 
— lento — ,  or  — to —  may  closely  parallel : 

I.  A  perfect  participle,  "neque  jejuniosiorem  nee  magis 
ecfertum  fame  |  vidi."  Plaut.,  Capt.,  466.  'leiuniosus'  is 
paralleled  with  'ecfertus  fame.'  i.  e.,  — oso —  with  'ecfertus/ 
"quinam  inlustriores  sunt  in  urbe,  non  solum  apud  negotiosos 
et  rebus  intentos,  sed  etiam  apud  vacuos  et  adulescentis." 
Tac.,  D.,  7,  13.  Here  — oso —  is  equivalent  to  'intentus.' 
"  respersusque  ipse  cruore  tota  in  se  castra  convertit."  Livy, 

*  See  Wackernagel,  "Genitiv  und  Adjektiv,"  in  "Melanges  de  Linguistique 
offerts  a  M.  Ferdinand  de  Saussure,"  Paris,  1908,  p.  125  ff.,  and  "Das  Ver- 
haltniss  des  Genitivs  zum  Adjektiv  im  Griechischen,"  a  dissertation  by  Paul 
Neumann,  Miinster,  1910. 


32  THE   SEMANTIC   VARIABILITY   AND 

III,  L,  3.  " cruentam  cervicem  eius  amplexa  servabat  sanguinem 
et  vestes  respersas."  Tac.,  Ann.,  XVI,  10.  "non  patitur 
hominem  calamitosum,  uno  malo  adflictum,  uno  in  luctu  perire." 
Cic.,  Sulla,  91.  In  this  example  — oso —  is  parallel  to  'adflictus.' 
"mentiri  noctem,  promissis  ducere  amantem,  |  hoc  erat  infectas 
sanguine  habere  manus."  Prop.,  II,  17,  2.  Here  — oso —  is 
equivalent  to  'infectus.' 

2.  A  present  participle,     "otioso  .  .  .  et  nihil  agenti  private." 
Cic.,  Phil.,  XI,  20.     This  is  a  very  close  parallel,     "videtis  ut 
senectus  sit  operosa  et  semper  agens  aliquid  et  moliens,"  id., 
Cato,  26.     Here  the  equivalence  is  by  no  means  so  nearly  exact. 
The  reason  is  that  '  aliquid '  is  colorless,  and  the  idea  of  labor  is 
in  'agens  et  moliens/  while  with  'operosus'  the  idea  of  labor  is 
in  the  stem.     In  the  same  way,  in  "industries  homines  studiosos 
vel  potius  amantes  doloris  appellant,  nos  commodius  laboriosos," 
Cic.,  T.,  II,  35,  an  equation  between  'amantes  doloris'  and 
'studiosus'  is  impossible,  because  the  idea  of  desire  in  'amans' 
is  in  the  stem  of  'studiosus';  but  the  — oso —  of  'laboriosus' 
in    this  context    is  practically    equivalent    to    the  'amans'  of 
'amantes  doloris,'  because  'dolor'  and  'labor'  are  alike  in  having 
no  element  of  desire. 

3.  The    genitive    case,     "quae    seditiosa    et    corrumpendae 
disciplinae  mox  in  praedam  vertebat."     Tac.,  Hist.,  Ill,  49,  10. 
quae  postquam  gloriosa  modo  neque  belli  patrandi  cognovit." 
Sal.,  Jug.,  88.     It  is  as  if  there  were  an  adjective  ' bellipatran- 
dosa.'     In  this  connection  it  may  be  noted  that  — oso —  is 
sometimes  equivalent  to  a  connective,  as  in  "Arminium  potius 
gloriae  ac  libertatis  quam  Segesthum  flagitiosae  servitutis  ducem 
sequeretur."     Tac.,  i,  59,  21. 

4.  The  ablative  case,     "maculento's  malis,  rufulus,  aliquantum 
ventriosus."     Plaut.,  Asin.,  400.     "valgus,  ventriosus,  genibus 
magms,  talis,  turgidis."     Novius,  Mil.  Pom.,  I.     "rufus  quidem, 
ventriosus,    crassw    sum,    subniger."     Plaut.,    Pseud.,     1218. 
Here  might  be  noted  also  instances  in  which  — oso —  paral- 
lels, or  is  exactly  opposite  in  meaning  to,  some  preposition  with 
the  ablative  case,     "vel  vitiosum,  vel  sine  vitio,  vel  probum,  vel 
improbum."     Plaut.,  Cure.,  469.     In  this  example  — oso —  is 


SEMANTIC   EQUIVALENTS   OF   -OSO-  AND   -LENTO-.  33 

opposed  squarely  to  'sine*  with  the  ablative;  in  the  following, 
— oso —  is  flatly  contrasted  with  'de.'  "cur  neque  deformem 
adulescentem  quisquam  amat,  neque  formosum  senem."  Cic., 
T.,  IV,  70.  "finis  vitae  eius  nobis  luctuosus,  amicis  tristis. 
extraneis  non  sine  cura  fuit."  Tac.,  Ag.,  XLIII,  I.  Here 
— oso —  equals  'non  sine.'  "quasi  corneolos  habent  introitus, 
multis  cum  flexibus."  Cic.,  N.  D.,  II,  144."  flexuosum  iter 
habet  aditus,  ne  quid  intrare  possit."  id.  In  the  preceding  two 
examples  it  is  clear  that  — oso —  of  'flexuosus'  is  equivalent  to 
the  ablative  case  in  'multis  cum  flexibus.'  "incruentam  et  sine 
luctu  victoriam."  Tac.,  Hist.,  Ill,  8,16.  Here ' in '  parallels  'sine.' 

5.  An  adjective.     "Vitellius,  .  .  .  medio  diei  temulentus  et 
sagina  gravis."     "heavy  with  food  and  wine."     Tac.  Hist.,  I, 
62,  8.     "quis  non  timeat  curiosum,  et  plenum  negotii  deum." 
Cic.,  N.,  I,  54.     Here  — oso —  equals  'plenus,'  but  'plenus*  is 
not  used  literally,     "mare  saevum,  importuosum,  ager  frugum 
fertilis,  bonus  pecori,  arbori  infecundus,  caelo  terraque  penuria 
aquarum."     Sal.,  Jug.,  17.     One  might  represent  'frugum  fer- 
tilis' by  'fructuosus,'   but   'fertilis  portuum'  is  an  expression 
too  violent  to  be  pressed,     "accipe,  aerumnosam  et  miseriarum 
compotem  |  mulierem."     Plaut.,  Epid.,  559.      In  this  example 
— oso —  is  equivalent  to  'compos.'     "Meander  .  .  .  ita  sinuosus 
flexibus  ut  saepe  credatur  reverti"     Plin.,  N.    H.,  V,  29,  31. 
'  '(Taurus  mons)  flexuosus."     id.,  27,  27.    — Oso —  of  the  second 
example  is  equal  to  'sinuosus'  of  the  first.     The  only  reason  for 
any  difference  between  'flexuosus'  and  'flexibus  sinuosus'  is  that 
'  flexuosus '  is  applied  to  '  mons, '  and  '  flexibus  sinuosus '  to  '  Me- 
ander.'    There  is  no  a  priori  reason  why  'flexuosus'  should  not 
be  applied  to  'Meander,'  but  it  is  not;  nor  has  it  been  found 
attached  to  the  name  of  any  other  river.     "The  expression 
'sinuosus  flexibus'  seems  as  natural  a  term  to  apply  to  'mons' 
as  'flexuosus,'  but  it  has  not  been  found  with  that  noun. 

6.  A  noun,     "nulla  placere  diu  nee  vivere  carmina  possunt  | 
quae  scribuntur  aquae  potoribus."     Hor.,   Epist.,   I,   19,  2-3. 
"laudibus  arguitur  vini  vinosus  Homerus."     id.,  6.     'Potor*  of 
line  3  is  the  exact  equivalent  of  — oso —  in  line  6. 

7.  A   verb.     Perhaps   the  strangest   parallel   for  — oso —  is 
found  in  Pliny,  XXI,  10,  34.     Speaking  of  slips  of  plants  for 


34  SEMANTIC   VARIABILITY 

transplanting  purposes  he  says:  "alsiosa  enim  admodum  sunt, 
ut  sole  tamen  nimis  laedantur."  Here  'alsiosa  sunt'  is  balanced 
with  'sole  laedantur.'  An  equation  might  be  worked  out  thus: 
stem  of  'alsiosus'  equals  'sol.' 

'Sunt'  equals  the  inflectional  termination  of  'laedantur.' 
— oso —  equals  laedere. 

It  may  be  of  some  use  in  illustrating  the  fact  that  a  termination 
varies  greatly  in  semantic  content,  according  to  stem,  to  add  a 
few  examples  in  which  the  variation  and  contrast  are  clearly 
shown,  "locis  .  .  .  montuosis  et  silvestribus  (delectamur)."  Cic., 
Lael.,  68.  In  this  instance  there  is  no  difference  in  the  semantic 
content  of  — estro —  and  — oso — .  But  in  "(apes)  silvestres 
minores  sunt  magnitudine  et  pilosae,  sed  opifices  magis." 
Varro,  R.  R.,  Ill,  16,  19,  the  same  terminations,  though  the 
adjectives  limit  one  and  the  same  noun,  differ  widely  in  semantic 
content,  simply  on  account  of  the  difference  in  stem.  — Estro — 
must  mean  'living  in';  — oso — ,  'having,  covered  with.'  "non 
mammosa  non  annosa,  non  bibosa,  non  procax."  Dec.  Lab. 
Sal.  In  '  mammosa '  — oso —  means  '  having,'  in  '  annosa '  perhaps 
' having  lived,'  in  '  bibosa,' '  addicted  to.'  "  vivendi  artem  tantam 
tamque  operosam  et  perinde  fructuosam."  Cic,  F.,  I,  72.  Here 
the  — oso —  of  'operosus'  means  'requiring,'  of  'fructuosus,' 
'yielding.'  See  also  "sunt  maxime  luminosae  et  quasi  actuosae 
partes  duae."  id.,  Orat.,  125. 

The  primary  object  of  this  paper,  to  show  the  semantic  varia- 
bility and  equivalents  of  an  adjective  suffix  (and  hence  by  im- 
plication its  similarity  to  a  case-suffix)  is  clear,  and,  with  the 
material  under  investigation,  not  difficult  to  develop  and  under- 
stand. It  has  been  shown  that  the  termination  means  whatever 
the  stem  to  which  it  is  attached  and  the  noun  which  the  ad- 
jective limits  may  require  it  to  mean.  If  this  is  so,  it  would 
seem  that  whatever  termination  is  caught  between  stem  and 
noun  limited  must  be  forced  into  the  required  meaning.  This 
has  been  found  to  be  true.  The  equivalence  of  — oso — , 
— lento — ,  and  — to — ,  of  course  excites  no  comment;  but  — li — , 
— bill — ,  — eo — ,  — eno — ,  —fer,  — gery  the  prefix  in — ,  any  ele- 
ment, wherever  it  comes  from,  seems  to  satisfy  the  demand 
equally  well. 


CHAPTER   III. 

§n. 
i.    SEMANTIC  RECIPROCITY. 

Such  suffixes  as  have  been  considered  thus  far  in  connection 
with  — oso —  were  introduced  because  each  suffix  in  suitable 
context  was  the  semantic  equivalent  of  — oso —  in  a  similar 
context.  It  is  natural  to  expect  that  other  terminations  will 
interchange  with  each  other  in  suitable  contexts  as  they  do  with 
— oso — .  This  is  the  fact;  and  the  following  collection  of  ex- 
amples taken  at  random  illustrates  such  equivalences  in  semantic 
value. 

The  equivalence  of  — io — ,  — eno — ,  — estro — ,  — till — ,  is 
illustrated  by  the  following  passages  from  Cicero:  (a)  "bestiarum 
terrenae  sunt  aliae,  partim  aquatiles,  aliae  quasi  ancipites  in 
utraque  sede  viventes."  Cic.,  N.  D.,  I,  103.  (b)  "vescimur 
bestiis  et  terrenis  et  aquatilibus  et  volantibus."  id.,  II,  151. 
(c)  "animantum  genera  quattuor, .  .  .  unum  .  .  .  caeleste,  alterum 
.  .  .  aerium,  tertiym  aquatile,*  terrestre  quartum."  id.,  Tim.,  io. 
In  these  examples  the  various  examples  are  each  and  all  used 
with  the  sense  of  'living  in'  or  'living  on.'  The  only  reason 
why  the  participial  termination  in  'volantibus'  does  not  mean 
the  same  thing  is,  that  its  stem  is  a  verb  with  a  semantic  content 
that  does  not  permit  that  meaning  in  the  termination. 

Various  other  interesting  parallels  have  been  found  for  the 
suffix  — eno —  or  — ino — .  It  may  equal  — icio — :  "greges  .  .  . 
armenticios  ac  caprinos.  Varro,  R.  R.,  II,  io,  3.  "si  figit 
adamantines  |  summis  verticibus  dira  necessitas  |  clavos."  Hor., 
Carm.,  Ill,  24,  5.  "atque  adamanteis  discordia  vincta  cate- 
nis."  Manil.,  I,  921.  It  may  equal  — illo — .  "quod  ver 
attulerit  ex  suillo,  ovillo,  caprino,  bovillo,  grege."  Livy,  XXII, 
io.  "Cassius  secundum  columbinum  (i.  e.  stercus)  scribit  esse 

*  'Aquatile '  here  is  a  conjecture  of  Lambinus,  but  the  use  of  the  same  word 
in  (a)  and  (b)  makes  its  presence  or  absence  here  in  (c)  immaterial  to  the  argu- 
ment. 

35 


36  THE   SEMANTIC  VARIABILITY  AND 

hominis,  tertio  caprinum  et  ovillum  et  asininum,  minime  bonum 
equinum,  sed  in  segetes."  Varro,  R.  R.,  I,  38.  "stomacho 
accomodatissimum  caprinum  (i.  e.  lac),  quoniam  fronde  magis 
quam  herba  vescuntur,  bubulum  medicatius,  ovillum  dulcius  et 
magis  alit,  stomacho  minus  utile,  quod  est  pinguius."  Plin., 
N.  H.,  XXVIII,  9,  33.  In  the  last  example  — bulo —  is  used  as 
equivalent  to  — eno — ,  as  also  in  the  following:  "venio  ad  macel- 
lum,  rogito  pisces:  indicant  |  caros:  agninam  caram,  caram 
bubulam,  |  vitulinam,  cetum,  porcinam,  cara  omnia:  |  atque  eo 
fuerunt  cariora,  aes  non  erat."  Plaut.,  Aul.,  372-6.  Compare 
also  "ius  e  carne  vaccina."  Plin.,  N.  H.,  XXVIII,  12,  50,  and 
"ad  hominis  morsus  carnem  bubulam  coctam."  id.,  43. 
The  following  example  is  interesting,  because  it  shows  the  ter- 
minations — eno — ,  and  — esti — ,  which  were  semantically  equiv- 
alent in  the  examples  from  Cicero  above,  in  a  context  where 
they  may  or  may  not  be  equivalents  according  to  the  interpre- 
tation of  'terrenum':  "cur,  eodem  volente  deo  qui  fecit  hoc 
animal,  non  poterit  terrenum  corpus  in  caeleste  corpus  attoli,  si 
animus  omni,  ac  per  hoc  caelesti  corpore  praestabilior,  terreno 
corpori  potuit  inligari?"  Aug.,  De  Civ.  Dei,  XXII,  4.  If 
*  terrenum  corpus*  means  'vile  tenement  of  clay,'  — eno —  will 
not  here  parallel  — esti — ,  which  cannot  mean  4made  of  in  this 
context,  because  'caelum'  is  not  something  from  which  anything 
can  be  made;  if,  on  the  other  hand,  it  means  a  'body  which 
dwells  on  earth,'  — eno — will  parallel  — esti — ,  as  'corpus  caeleste' 
must  mean  'a  body  which  dwells  in  heaven,'  or  something 
equivalent. 

— Ico —  is  sometimes  paralleled  by  — eo — ,  — ri — ,  — io — ; 
— icio —  by  — ensi — .  "viderat  lasium  Cretaea  diva  sub  Ida,  | 
fingentem  certa  terga  ferina  manu."  Ovid,  Amor.,  Ill,  io, 
25.  "musis  amicus  tristitiam  et  metus  |  tradam  protervis  in 
mare  Creticum  |  portare  ventis."  Hor.,  Carm.,  I,  26,  2. 

' '  unde  mora  in  Atellanico  exodio. ' '  Suet. ,  Tib. ,  45 .  "  miscebat 
Atellanios  versus."  Petr.,  68.  "totum  omnino  fatum  Atellanio 
versu  jure  mihi  esse  inrisum  videtur."  Cic.,  Div.,  II,  io.  " Mum- 
mius  quoque  qui  post  Novium  et  Pomponium  diu  iacentem  artem 
Atellaniam  suscitavit."  Macr.,  Sat.,  I,  io,  3.  "ab  aliis  Iberi- 


SEMANTIC  EQUIVALENTS  OF  -OSO-  AND  -LENTO-.  37 

cum  aut  Balearicum."  Plin.,  Nat.  Hist.,  3,  74.  Pliny  is  here 
speaking  of  seas,  and  the  noun  to  be  supplied  is  '  mare.1  Compare 
"Baliares  (insulae),"  id.,  76,  and  passim.  "Atilius  Ligusticum 
sinum,  Pomponius  Gallicum  obsedit,  Torquatus  Balearicum 
Tiberius  Nero  Gaditanum  fretum."  Florus,  I,  41,  9.  "non 
secus  exarsit  quam  cum  Balearica  plumbum  |  funda  jacit." 
Ov.,  Met.,  2,  727. .  "Balearis  verbera  fundae."  Verg.,  Georg., 
I»  3°9'  "hunc  ego  hominem  .  .  .  nisi  ex  domesticiis  insidiis  in 
castrense  latrocinium  compulissem."  Cic.,  Cat.,  Ill,  17. 

In  the  following  examples  — till —  equals  — tico — :  "mollis  est 
oratio  philosophorum  et  umbratilis,  nee  sententiis  nee  verbis 
instructa  popularibus."  Cic.,  Or.,  64.  "nisi  forte  .  .  .  scholas- 
ticas  tibi,  atque,  ut  ita  dicam,  umbraticas  litteras  mittere."  Plin., 
Epist.,  9,  2.  The  suffix  — li —  is  used  as  an  equivalent  to  — bro — 
and  — eo —  in  such  contexts  that  the  two  latter  are  also  mutually 
equivalent:  "sed  iam  non  voce  virili  |  Hermaphroditus  ait." 
Ov.,  Met.,  4,  382.  "quae  dum  feminea  modulatur  carmina  voce." 
id.,  14,  341.  "sin  is  virilem  sexum  non  reliquisset."  Nepos, 
Ag.,  i.  "is  (magnes)  qui  in  Troade  invenitur,  niger  est  et 
feminei  sexus,  ideoque  sine  viribus."  Plin.,  N.  H.,  36,  16,  25. 
"sunt  enim  certa  vitia,  quae  nemo  est  quin  effugere  cupiat, 
mollis  vox  aut  muliebris  aut  quasi  extra  modum  absona  atque 
absurda."  Cic.,  De  Or.,  Ill,  n,  41.  "sumpsisti  virilem,  quam 
statim  muliebrem  togam  reddisti."  Cic.,  Phil.,  II,  44.  — Li — 
equals  — ano —  in:  "dein  quantum  expressere  adiciunt  vinaceis 
aquae  puteanae."  Plin.,  N.  H.,  14,  9,  n.  "multi  praecipites 
lymphis  putealibus  alte  |  inciderunt  ipso  venientes  ore  patente." 
Lucr.,  VI,  1174.  In  some  instances  it  seems  immaterial  whether 
the  adjective  is  used  with  or  without  a  special  suffix.  Either 
'invidus'  or  'invidiosus'  may  be  used  in  some  contexts  without 
difference  in  semantic  content,  "tempus  edax  rerum,  tuque 
invidiosa  vetustas.'  Ov.,  Met.,  15,  234.  "o  fortuna  viris 
invida  fortibus."  Sen.,  Her.  Fur.,  524.  "num  sibi  collatam 
doluit  Venus?  ilia  peraeque  |  prae  se  formosis  invidiosa  dea  est." 
Prop.,  II,  28,  10;  "dum  loquimur  fugerit  invida  aetas."  Hor., 
Carm.,  I,  II,  7. 

'Pluvius,'  'pluvialis,'    'pluviatilis,'    and    'pluviosus'    furnish 


38  THE   SEMANTIC  VARIABILITY  AND 

interesting  material,  "et  si  naturalis  defuit  aqua,  vel  inducitur 
fluens,  vel  infossi  lacus  Signino  consternuntur,  qui  receptam 
pluviatilemcontineant."  Col.,  IX,  I.  " aqua  levissima  pluvialis 
est."  Cels.,  II,  18.  "sed  ea  spuma  ex  aqua  pluviatili  coquitur." 
id.,  VI,  6,  16.  "si  aqua  pluvia  nocet."  Twelve  Tables,  VII,  8. 
"tu  (caves)  ut  aquae  pluviae  arceantur."  Cic.,  Mur.,  22. 
"ita  nubilo  occasu  pluviosam  hiemem  denuntiat."  Plin.,  N.  H., 
1 8,  25,  60.  "quaedam  pluviis  diebus."  Col.,  II,  15.  "arctu- 
rum,  pluviasque  Hyadas,  geminosque  triones."  Verg.,  A.,  3, 
516.  "  quantus  ab  occasu  veniens  pluvialibus  haedis. ' '  id . ,  9 ,  668 . 

Although  this  dissertation  has  been  confined  almost  entirely 
to  the  treatment  of  adjectives  formed  on  noun  stems,  it  may 
not  be  out  of  place  to  bring  in  the  word  'admirabilis,'  which 
is  quite  frequently  used  in  such  a  way  as  to  parallel  exactly 
the  gerundive  'admirandus.'  "  (philosophus)  in  edito  stat,  ad- 
mirabilis,  celsus,  magnitudinis  verae."  Sen.,  Epist.,  in,  3. 
"egregium  .  .  .  hominem  et  admirandum."  Cic.,  De  Or.,  I,  76. 
"qui  admiranda  virtute  ex  suis  navibus  in  hostium  naves  transi- 
lire  non  dubitabant."  Caes.,  Bell.  AL,  46,  4.  "admirabili  in- 
credibilique  virtute  libertatem  populi  Romani  defenderit."  Cic., 
Phil.,  14,  36. 

The  collection  of  examples  to  illustrate  semantic  reciprocity 
may  be  concluded  with  three  passages  which  show  the  equivalence 
of — urno — ,  — bundo — ,  and  — vago — .  "cum  complicarem  hanc 
epistolam,  noctuabundus  ad  me  venit  cum  epistula  tua  tabel- 
larius."  Cic.,  ad  Att.,  12,  I,  2.  "nocturnum  furem  quoquo 
modo,  diurnum  si  se  telo  defenderet,  interfici  impune."  id. 
Mil.,  9.  "et  adiunctis  arcet  sua  nubila  castris  |  noctivagi  vis 
blanda  dei."  Stat.,  Theb.,  X,  158.  The  god  here  is  not  wander- 
ing by  night  any  more  than  the  letter-carrier  or  the  thief;  the  only 
possible  difference  in  these  terminations  used  here  is  that  it  is  a 
permanent  characteristic  of  the  god  (Somnus)  to  wander;  not 
so  of  the  thief  or  the  letter-carrier.  There  is  nothing  in  the 
original  force  of  the  verb  'vagari'  to  denote  permanence,  and 
if  the  adjective  in  the  example  has  such  force  it  gains  it  from  the 
noun  limited. 


SEMANTIC   EQUIVALENTS   OF  -OSO-   AND   -LENTO-.  39 

§12. 

Roughly  speaking,  it  might  be  said  that  all  the  terminations 
dealt  with  above  are  semantic  equivalents  of  — oso — .  But  such 
a  statement  would  be  vague  and  liable  to  misinterpretation.  It 
is  true  that  — bili —  in  '  bellum  exitiabile '  has  the  same  semantic 
content  as  —oso —  in  'bellum  exitiosum,'  and  that  this  content 
is  not  different  from  that  of  — li —  in  'scelus  exitiale.'  But  in 
'hiems  pluviosa,'  'aqua  pluviatilis,'  and  'Auster  pluvialis,'  the 
terminations  — li — ,  — oso — ,  and  — till — ,  formed  on  the  same 
stem,  are  used  with  quite  different  semantic  content.  This 
fact  is  due  in  this  instance  to  the  difference  in  the  nouns  limited. 
So  — oso —  in  'mons  silvosus*  is  the  semantic  equivalent  of 
— estro —  in  'mons  silvester,'  and  — oso —  in  'collis  saxosus'  is 
the  semantic  equivalent  of  — eno —  in  'collis  terrenus';  but  it 
is  not  on  that  account  justifiable  to  make  any  deduction  as  to 
the  relation  of  — eno —  and  — estro — ,  because  — oso —  has  a 
different  semantic  content  in  the  two  contexts  quoted.  The 
semantic  area  of  any  termination  is  made  up  of  the  sum  of  the 
various  different  semantic  contents;  and  equivalence  between 
terminations  can  be  asserted  only  in  as  far  as  semantic  contents 
in  suitable  contexts  are  concerned.  There  will  be  portions  of 
the  area  of  each  termination  that  coincide  with  portions  of  the 
area  of  other  terminations.  To  decide  how  far  terminations 
thus  coincide  it  is  necessary  to  observe  the  various  equivalences 
in  content.  The  problem  of  the  extent  to  which  each  termination 
occupies  territory  which  is  occupied  also  by  other  terminations 
and  of  the  amount  of  territory  which  is  peculiar  to  each  termina- 
tion I  hope  to  take  up  in  the  near  future. 

§13- 
2.    THE  EMOTIONAL  QUALITY  OF  — oso — . 

It  is  significant  that  if  all  the  words  in  — oso —  are  examined, 
very  many  of  them  have  a  meaning  necessarily  unpleasant. 
There  are  also  some  that  may  be  pleasant  or  unpleasant,  some 
that  may  be  pleasant,  unpleasant,  or  neutral,  and  at  least  one 
that  is  always  complimentary.  It  seems  sufficient  for  present 


40  THE  SEMANTIC  VARIABILITY   AND 

purposes  to  point  out  some  instances  which  illustrate  the  various 
classes  mentioned,  and  also  the  shift  in  emotional  quality  due 
to  change  of  context.*  To  begin  with  those  that  are  always 
unpleasant:  in  most  instances  the  unpleasantness  resides  in  the 
stem.  Characteristic  words  of  this  class  are:  aerumnosus,  cala- 
mitosus,  contumeliosus,  criminosus,  damnosus,  exitiosus,  flagi- 
tiosus,  iniuriosus,  invidiosus,  libidinosus,  luctuosus,  odiosus, 
perniciosus,  perfidiosus,  scelerosus,  seditiosus,  and  of  course 
disease  words,  as  podagrosus. 

Words  which  may  be  pleasant  or  unpleasant  are  such  as: 
ambitiosus,  gloriosus,  gratiosus,  and  generally  any  adjectives 
whose  noun  stems  may  be  used  in  two  senses  distinctly  different 
in  emotional  element.  In  these  examples  there  is  not  much  to  be 
learned  from  observation  of  the  change  in  emotional  ingredient 
of  — oso —  due  to  context.  The  difficulty  is,  that  in  each  instance 
the  noun  itself  may  bear  all  the  shift  of  meaning.  For  example 
n  " simula  Silena  ac  saturast,  labeosa  philema."  Lucr.,  IV,, 
1169,  'labeosa'  obviously  means  'thick-lipped.'  Here,  however 
it  would  be  wrong  to  attribute  the  meaning  'thick'  to  — oso — . 
The  word  'labeum'  is  used  pregnantly,  as  is  the  word  'feet'  if 
one  should  say  "that  man  has  feet"  when  looking  at  a  person 
whose  pedal  extremities  were  enlarged.  So  'gloria'  is  a  different 
word  in  'miles  gloriosus'  and  'victoria  gloriosa.'  It  may  be 
worth  while,  however,  to  examine  the  shift  in  the  emotional 
element  of  'gloriosus.'  This  word  may  have  its  emotional 
element  denned:  (i)  by  its  noun:  " gloriosissimas  victorias," 
(splendid),  Suet.  Tib.  52.  "milites  gloriosi"  (boastful).  Cic., 
Lael.,  98.  (2)  By  other  adjectives  limiting  the  noun  or  pronoun 
qualified :  ' '  qui  (convenire  vul  t)  mendacem  et  gloriosum ' '  (boast- 
ful, emotional  element  from  mendax) .  Plaut. ,  Cure. ,  47 1 .  "  quod 
nobis  quidem  egregium  et  ad  immortalitatem  memoriae  glori- 
osum" (glorious).  Cic.,  L.,  Ill,  21.  (3)  By  contrast:  "nisi  forte 

*  See  in  general  Jaberg,  '  Pejorative  Bedeutungsentwicklung  im  Franzos- 
ischen,'  Zeitschrift  fur  Romanische  Philologie,  25,  1901.  Seek,  in  his  dis- 
cussion of  the  suffix  — astro —  A.  L.  L.,  I,  seems  to  take  the  'deteriorative 
Grundbedeutung'  of  the  suffix  for  granted.  See  page  391,  "Die  deteriorative 
Grundbedeutung  tritt  deutlichst  hervor  in  denjenigen  Bildungen,  welche  zur 
Bezeichnung  einer  S&'e/verwandtschaft  auf  Inschriften  begnegen."  On 
emotional  quality  in  — oso —  see  also  Aulus  Gellius,  IV,  9,  12. 


SEMANTIC  EQUIVALENTS  OF  -OSO-  AND   -LENTO-.  41 

quod  gloriosum  sit  in  vulgo,  id  honestum  velimus  dicere." 
Cic.,  A.,  II,  140.  "earum  oppressionem  taetram  et  detestabilem 
gloriosam  putat."  id.,  O.,  Ill,  83.  (4)  By  a  verb:  "mihi  crede, 
homini  non  glorioso,"  id.,  Ep.,  XI,  14,  i.  In  the  example  last 
quoted  it  is  easy  to  see  that  'non  glorioso'  means  'not  boastful/ 
The  only  words  in  the  sentence  which  determine  this  fact  are 
'mihi'  and  'crede.'  'Mihi'  cannot  be  definitive,  and  the  deter- 
mining factor  is  'crede.' 

Of  adjectives  of  the  third  class  which  may  be  pleasant,  un- 
pleasant, or  neutral,  any  adjective  having  as  its  stem  a  concrete 
noun  without  strong  emotional  element  is  a  good  example. 
'Aquosus'  will  show  the  following  variations:  Mredeo  ad  semen- 
tim;  ubi  quisque  locus  frigidissimus  aquosissimusque  erit,  ibi 
primum  serito."  Cato,  A.  C.,  XXXIV,  2.  Here  'aquosus'  is 
neutral,  "quern  ceperant  exules  montem  herbidus  aquosusque." 
Livy,  XXIX,  31,  9.  Here  'aquosus'  denotes  a  desirable  quality 
of  the  mountain,  and  the  emotional  element  is  pleasant.  "  crescit 
indulgens  sibi  dirus  hydrops,  |  nee  sitim  pellit  nisi  causa  morbi  | 
fugerit  venis,  et  aquosus  albo  |  corpore  languor."  Hor.,  Carm., 
II,  2,  15.  There  is  no  question  as  to  the  unpleasantness  of 
'aquosus'  in  this  example:  it  means  'dropsical.'  How  does  it 
get  that  unpleasantness?  The  first  obvious  suggestion  is  from 
its  noun,  but  here  the  difficulty  arises  that  'languor'  follows  a 
few  words  later,  and  that  nobody  is  in  the  slightest  doubt  as 
to  the  emotional  element  of  'aquosus'  when  it  is  reached.  The 
unpleasantness  is  in  the  whole  situation.  But  there  is  one 
phrase  that  definitely  pitches  the  key  to  the  passage,  'dirus 
hydrops'  first  clearly  defines  it,  though  'indulgens  sibi'  is 
suspicious;  'dirus'  is  unmistakable  in  quality,  and  'hydrops' 
looks  forward  to  'aquosus.' 

'Pecuniosus'  is  about  colorless  in  emotional  quality.  It  is 
frequent  in  the  Verrine  orations,  "omnibus  pecuniosissimis 
Siculis  metum  propositum."  Cic.,  Verr.,  V,  24.  Here  colorless. 
"  Attalus,  homo  pecuniosus" — "the  wealthy  gentleman,  Attalus." 
id.  IV,  51.  Here  complimentary,  "hominem  pecuniosum  .  .  . 
electum  ad  tarn  credibile  crimen."  id.,  V,  24.  "hominem  pecuni- 
osum" is  defined  by  the  following  prepositional  phrase,  and 


42  SEMANTIC  VARIABILITY 

means  "a  wealthy  rascal."  "homo  nocentissimus  pecuniosis- 
simusque."  id.,  Pr.,  I,  47.  Here  ' pecuniosus '  is  defined  by  the 
preceding  adjective,  and  the  phrase  means  "a  malefactor  of 
great  wealth." 

It  is  in  words  of  this  latter  class  that  the  shift  in  the  emotional 
quality  of  — oso —  may  best  be  studied.  In  words  of  the  type  of 
'gloriosus,'  as  was  pointed  out,  the  entire  semantic  content  of 
the  word  may  shift;  or  at  least  it  cannot  be  shown  that  it  does 
not  shift.  The  'gloriosus'  of  'milites  gloriosi'  is  a  quite  different 
thing  from  the  'gloriosus'  of  'victoria  gloriosa.'  In  'aqua,'  or 
even  'pecunia'  there  is  always  in  the  last  analysis  the  concrete 
fact:  the  water,  or  the  piece  of  money. 

The  only  word  that  has  been  found  of  an  invariably  pleasant 
emotional  quality  is  'generosus,'  and  it  must  evidently  be  formed 
from  the  stem  genes —  in  a  specialized  use.*  Corresponding 
to  'generosus'  there  are  adjectives  of  an  unpleasant  signification 
formed  from  neutral  stems;  and  further  when  two  meanings  are 
possible  in  a  noun,  — oso —  is  much  more  apt  to  be  formed  upon 
the  stem  in  its  unpleasant  meaning.  For  instance,  'pannus' 
may  mean  'cloth'  or  'rags';  'pannosus'  in  the  examples  collected, 
is  formed  on  the  stem  in  its  latter  meaning:  "pannosus  vacuis 
aedilis  Ulubris,"  Juv.  X,  102,  "pauci  pannosi,  linea  lanterna." 
Cic.,  A.,  IV,  3,  5-t 

*E.  g.  'genus'  in  the  sense  of  'good  birth,'  as  in  Horace,  Serm.  II,  5,  8: 
"  et  genus  et  virtus  nisi  cum  re  vilior  alga  est,"  and  passim. 

t  In  "  Untersuchungen  zur  Kasussyntax  der  indogermanischen  Sprachen," 
Strassburg,  1911,  Havers  shows  that  where  genitive  or  dative  may  be  used, 
the  dative  is  used  with  more  emotion  than  the  genitive.  The  only  point  of 
interest  for  this  discussion  in  Havers'  work  is,  that  if  his  contention  is  sound 
the  emotional  quality  of  a  case-suffix  would  be  a  further  parallel  between  it 
and  an  adjective  termination. 


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